The rapid rise of ride-hailing apps in Indonesia has revolutionized many people’s lives, from passengers who now have access to cheaper and more convenient transportation options to drivers who have more flexible and independent means of earning income. However, as with any revolution, there will be those looking to exploit the rapid change for unfair gain.
Last weekend, police in South Sulawesi arrested seven men, ranging in age from 21-31, who were registered driver partners with ride-hailing app Grab. Authorities said the seven had all been involved in a scheme to manipulate their employer’s payment system using fictitious passenger orders, which they referred to as tuyul passengers (named for a kind of mischievous Indonesian spirit creature that usually resembles a small demonic child).
“On their mobile phones they installed Mock Location or Fake GPS, so they could control their GPS location as if they were delivering passengers,” said South Sulawesi Police spokesperson Dicky Sondani as quoted by Detik.
Police said the suspect were making as 15 fake orders per day in order to achieve Grab’s daily target, which would net them a bonus of IDR 240,000 (US$ 19) per day.
Dicky said the culprits had learned about the scheme online in early January and had already used it to cheat the company out of IDR 50 million.
After receiving a report about suspicious activity from Grab, police tracked down the seven suspects and arrested them and confiscated evidence including 50 mobile phones, 7 ATM cards, 3 modems, and a data log of their online activities.
Police said the suspects will be charged under the section of the Law on Information Electronic Transactions (UU ITE) regarding online fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 12 years in jail.
“This is great, because in all of Indonesia this is the first time (cheating drivers have been arrested). We deeply appreciate the police investigating the case and hope this has a deterrent effect on all lazy drivers who are naughty,” said Ridzki Kramadribrata, managing director at Grab Indonesia.
