After This, There Should Be No More Victims of Fabricated Love

Romance scam victims experience trauma after being left by the perpetrator. They also have to bear losses of up to tens of millions due to this fraud.

KOMPAS/IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

Three victims of romance scam by Faris Ahmad Faza (31), namely Tr (31), Li (25) and Il (28), reported together to the Kediri City Police, East Java, Sunday (20/3/2022).2).

The dream of LL (25) to open a business after completing her study has been crushed. Her savings since junior school are gone. Instead, she is now trapped in an online loan with suffocating interest rate.

At first, LL thought the man was polite, but she later found out he was a liar. Even after her money had run out, Ahmad Faris Faza (31) still forced her to borrow from online lending platforms. She met Faza on Dec. 7, 2021 via Line application.

Faza told LL that he was the son a religious leader who owned a boarding school. LL was fascinated by Faza's pious image. After having an apparently sweet relationship for a month, Faza began to exploit LL. "Please borrow money from an online application. I'll pay you back later. This will be the last time I bother you," Faza persuaded LL.

Initially, the debt was repaid by Faza. However, afterward, he asked for more and more money, draining LL’s savings. Faza again requested that she borrow more from an online lending app. His persistent pleas forced LL to borrow more money from seven online loan applications, under her name. Faza then disappeared on Feb. 25. By that time, LL had already handed over a total of Rp 87 million to Faza.

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LL was upset when she realized she had been cheated. She was depressed, angry and embarrassed. LL was afraid of her parents finding out the truth. She suffered even more when she received a series of threats from the online lending applications because she could not pay her debts. LL did not have any money. To relieve the pressure, she changed her phone number.

She was afraid that online lenders would charge her parents. "I was so scared. Every day, I secretly checked my father's and mother's cellphones to see if there was a text message from the online lenders. I felt devastated and restless," she said, in Kediri, East Java, in March.

That afternoon she looked exhausted, and her eyes brimmed with tears. Occasionally, she leaned her body on her friend's shoulder when she reported Faza to the Kediri City Police.

Thus far, she has not dared reveal the secret to her family. LL is worried that her elderly parents could get sick if they find out her story.

IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

The victim of the romance scam by Faris Ahmad Faza shows evidence before reporting it to the police in Kediri City, East Java, Saturday (4/3/2022).

To pay her debts, she borrowed money from her mother to open a business with friends. She also lied as a pretext to borrow money from her sister. This law school student did not dare to tell the truth.

Before cheating LL, Faza first made ZL (28) a victim. ZL can no longer bear to hear one more word about Faza, who turned out to be a fraudster. The woman living in Nganjuk, East Java, had a relationship with

Faza for four months. "His word were so sweet. When his wishes were not fulfilled, he threatened to break up," she said.

Faza once urged her to mortgage her house and sell his cellphone to raise funds to open a business. After Faza disappeared, she was trapped in an online loan worth Rp 15 million (US$1,045.25). "I almost pawned my house ownership title to pay off the online loan," she said.

His word were so sweet. When his wishes were not fulfilled, he threatened to break up.

LL and ZL were just two of Faza’s nine victims in Central and East Java. To his victims, Faza claimed to be the son of a rich man. He boasted that his parents owned hotels and Islamic boarding schools in many cities.

To cover his tracks, Faza moved from one location to the next: Yogyakarta, Kediri, Purwokerto, Tulungagung, Nganjuk and Cilacap. He had several aliases: Areza, Putra, Tegar, Fafa, Fajar and Gizly. Faza's name went viral on Twitter on Feb. 23 with the nickname "Tinder Swindler", the Indonesian version. Kompas attempted to track his whereabouts to an apartment and a rented house from the address on his ID card. However, he was nowhere to be found.

Abandoned

Like LL, AM (26), a woman from Riau, was also financially exploited by another fraudster, Mohammad Iqbal Pangestu (29).

Iqbal introduced himself to AM as Benandra, the son of a rich man who worked at a state-owned bank, via Bigo app, in early March.

To cover his tracks, Iqbal also moved from one place to another in West Java, Central Java, Special Region of Yogyakarta and East Java. He rented an apartment with a fake ID card. He often used pseudonyms: Ananda Resya, Benandra and Ald. “I often went live on Bigo. Iqbal regularly commented when I was broadcasting live. From there, we became close," AM said.

Iqbal approached AM aggressively. Although he had only known her for a few days, he dared to declare his love. At first, AM wasn't sure. "In the end, I melted, because Iqbal brought mineral water to my boarding house at 1 a.m. Also, he often bought me food through a delivery application," she said.

Iqbal invited AM to Yogyakarta on March 19. He explained that he wanted to introduce her to his parents.

Iqbal introduced AM as his future wife, and promised to look for a new job for her there. At that time, AM was still an employee of a private company in Jakarta. AM accepted the offer and resigned from her job.

Upon arriving in Yogyakarta by bus, Iqbal asked AM to borrow money from an online lending application. After the money was disbursed, he left the hotel with the excuse of visiting his mother. AM was asked to wait at the hotel.

"I can't stay [at home] today. There are still many people. There are a lot of my brothers,” Iqbal told AM.

AM still believed in him; but the next day, Iqbal did not return to the hotel. She began to get angrier and angrier when Iqbal's phone number could not be reached. Iqbal never came back, after taking money and goods worth Rp 15 million. "I was cheated," said AM.

At that time, the remaining money in her account was Rp 100,000. She asked her relatives for help to return to Jakarta.

WT started becoming upset because Iqbal was only talking about money, not about love.

Before deceiving AM, Iqbal tricked WT (25), an employee of a state-owned company in Semarang. WT was especially angry because Iqbal cheated not only her, but also her entire family, on Jan. 19, in Cilacap, Central Java. In front of her extended family, Iqbal promised to marry WT in April.

After receiving the blessing of WT's parents, Iqbal dared to borrow money from WT. Iqbal even asked to borrow WT’s ATM card. "The reason was to apply for a loan in an online lending app," she said.

WT started becoming upset because Iqbal was only talking about money, not about love. She asked for her money back. Iqbal then disappeared, at the end of January. Again, he lied to WT, saying he was visiting her sister at Salatiga Hospital, Central Java. "Iqbal even sent a photo of Salatiga Hospital from Google," she said.

After that, Iqbal disappeared, leaving WT disappointed and hurt. Kompas went to Iqbal's house in Tangerang, Banten. His father, Aj, did not know of his whereabouts. Aj and his family’s situation was very different from what Iqbal had claimed to his victims. (DVD/IRE/FAI/NDY)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.