Police Investigate TikTok Scam Targeting Children in Cycling Community

A promise of Rp100,000 for appearing in a TikTok perfume advertisement allegedly ended with two children losing their mobile phones and one being driven away before being left in Manggarai.

The incident occurred in Kebon Melati, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, after an unknown person approached children from a cycling community. Police said the person offered them side work as models for a perfume advertisement to be posted on TikTok.

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Regarding the public report of a fraud committed by an unknown person against children from a cycling community.

Tanah Abang Metro Police Chief AKBP Dhimas Prasetyo confirmed that police had received a report about the alleged deception. “Regarding the public report of a fraud committed by an unknown person against children from a cycling community,” he said in a written statement.

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It turned out there was a problem with the password code and it could not be opened.

Police allege that the suspect took two mobile phones instead of paying the promised reward. The suspect also allegedly took one of the children in a vehicle and later dropped the child in the Pasar Rumput area of Manggarai.

Investigators visited a restaurant on Jalan Plaju to examine CCTV footage that may have captured the incident. The effort encountered a technical problem because the recording system could not be opened with its password. Police have contacted one victim, Amar, to file an official report and plan to question another child, Kenzi, at home. Officers also intend to obtain CCTV footage from the MRT area to trace the suspect’s route. Police are still working to establish the suspect’s identity and the full chronology of events. A separate video previously circulated online appeared to show cyclists near BNI City in Sudirman who were allegedly robbed of three mobile phones using a similar approach.

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Police are still examining the suspect’s identity and the complete chronology of the incident.