NSW Police have issued an official warning via Twitter after folks have reported being stung by what’s been called a ‘showbiz scam’.
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The FBI first published a report stating that they’re ‘seeking victims who may have traveled to Indonesia between 2013 and the present to pursue a fraudulent offer of employment from individuals claiming to be well-known entertainment industry professionals.’
‘In this ongoing transnational fraud scheme targeting U.S. citizens, victims are contacted by text, email, or phone with a lucrative job offer in the entertainment industry; victims to date have included writers, stuntpeople, make-up artists, security providers, and photographers. Victims are told the job requires travel to Indonesia, typically Jakarta, for a so-called trial run of their services.’
‘When they arrive in Indonesia, the victims are met by a driver and are pressured into providing U.S. currency for the driver’s services. The victims are asked to continue to pay for other services and fees until the trip is completed or they realise they are the victim of a scam. The victims are not reimbursed for the cost of the travel or paid for their services while in Indonesia.’
If anyone from NSW believes they are a victim of this scam, please follow the link in the @FBI‘s tweets. https://t.co/EzM669tQhD
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) July 16, 2019
While the investigation is targeted at U.S. victims, the reason for the local police’s involvement is possibly due to local targets including The Bachelorette contestant Damien Rider.
The 42-year-old told Ben Fordham on 2GB radio that he was contacted by the con-artists following his appearance on the cover of Men’s Health in 2015.
Fordham’s recounting of the scam very much fits the bill for what the FBI outlined in their report.
He claims the fraudsters told him that he’d been cast in an upcoming TV series, sent him scripts and schedules and requested that he fly to Indonesia at his own expense to film the show.
“They said they had a TV series that they wanted to do about pushing the limits,” he recounted.
“Everything fit with who I am or what I do. They sent me NDAs, pilot scripts, they sent me schedules of where we’re going to go.”
When the motivational speaker arrived, he was asked to pay $4000 for ‘expenses’, which is when he became suss on the whole thing.
The poor bloke was then taken to “the middle of nowhere in Java” and ultimately handed over $1000 to the scammers.
While there, they took the athlete to a local art exhibition and a five star hotel before the encounter ended.
Rider claims that when he returned to Australia, he reported the incident to police who allegedly “laughed it off” and were dismissive of his complaint.
Despite his allegation, the NSW Police are urging for anyone with any information to follow the FBI’s link and assist with the investigation.
