Sleman Regent Harda Kiswaya has expressed profound concern following a distressing incident where rogue online loan debt collectors allegedly tricked an ambulance and the fire department into responding to bogus calls as a tactic to collect debts from a debtor. The Regent unequivocally called for a thorough investigation into the matter and urged the swift apprehension of those responsible.
“Indeed, we feel deceived and are quite concerned,” Harda stated when met in Mrican Village, Sleman Regency, on Friday, April 24. He added, “Yes, we hope they are caught; hopefully, this will not happen again.” In response to the fraudulent scheme, Harda also committed to improving the call center system for the fire department to minimize the occurrence of such fabricated reports in the future.
“We will implement better improvements to detect whether a report is a hoax or not. I will certainly fix it,” he affirmed, highlighting the administration’s commitment to enhancing public safety protocols.
Meanwhile, local authorities are intensifying their efforts to crack down on this alarming trend. Sleman Police Chief Kombes Pol Adhitya Panji Anom revealed that police investigations have traced the phone number suspected of being used by the online loan debt collectors, who trapped the ambulance and fire department in Sleman to collect debts, to the North Sumatra region.
“Currently, we are still conducting further investigations, including tracking the phone number used by the perpetrators, which has been detected in the North Sumatra area,” Adhitya confirmed on Friday, April 24. The investigative unit of the Sleman Resort Police continues to pursue leads, though no arrests have been made at this stage. “For now, no one has been apprehended. We will provide further updates on the developments,” he added.
The shocking incident unfolded on Wednesday, April 22, when an ambulance driver and fire department officers were ensnared in the debt collectors’ elaborate trap. Both teams were lured to a boarding house in Caturtunggal, Kapanewon Depok, Sleman Regency, under false pretenses.
The ambulance driver was instructed to pick up a patient and transport them to the hospital, only to find upon arrival that the supposed patient had moved three years prior. Concurrently, fire department officers received a fabricated report requesting the evacuation of a snake, but discovered no such animal at the location. Subsequently, they called back the number that had requested assistance. During the phone conversation, the caller brazenly admitted to being from an online loan company and audaciously insisted that the ambulance driver and fire department officers proceed to collect the debt from the debtor.
Adding to the concern, a similar fraudulent case recently affected a local septic tank cleaning service in Sleman, underscoring a disturbing pattern of deception employed by these rogue debt collectors.
Summary
Sleman Regent Harda Kiswaya expressed deep concern after online loan debt collectors allegedly tricked an ambulance and the fire department into responding to bogus calls as a debt collection tactic. The Regent called for a thorough investigation and swift apprehension of those responsible, further committing to improve the fire department’s call center system to detect hoax reports.
Sleman Police are actively investigating, tracing the suspected phone number used by the perpetrators to North Sumatra, though no arrests have been made yet. The fraudulent scheme involved luring emergency services to a boarding house under false pretenses—an ambulance for a patient and fire officers for a snake. The callers brazenly admitted to being from an online loan company and insisted the emergency teams collect the debt. This incident follows a similar fraudulent case affecting a septic tank cleaning service in Sleman.