It’ All in the Mind
Hypnotism – when defined as the act of putting someone into a trance and under your control – is not...
scams in the city
Sky High Hijinks
Air travel scams are common, but more worrying is that Indonesian airlines have been ranked among the most unsafe in...
Indecent Acts
Social media scamming is on the rise, but authorities need to stop prosecuting people for exercising freedom of speech. About...
Scum in the Cities
Indonesian law carries a six-year jail term for negligent drivers who cause fatal accidents. But rich kids in costly cars...
Mama Wants Credit, Papa Wants Shares
Police have finally busted one of the most common text message scams in the book; meanwhile, the country’s biggest corruption...
Stranger Danger
Beware of people you meet online. And beware of strangers seeking help. An Indonesian man has been jailed in Australia...
Official Ignorance Is Not Bliss
If Indonesia’s greatest crime of the past century remains swept under the carpet – and cannot even be discussed at...
The Great Degradable Swindle
Consumers in Indonesia will have noticed that plastic bags from leading chains of convenience stores and supermarkets are now labelled...
Playing for Rain
What to do when the country is suffering its worst drought in five years and the Government yet again fails...
Ripping Off Refugees
A photo of a drowned boy sparked an outpouring of international grief, prompting some Western countries to take more Syrian...
You Say You Want a Revolution?
Cybercrime is on the rise in Indonesia. Government critics claim the biggest online scam is an official website promoting President...
It’ All About the Money
President Joko Widodo came to power on promises to fight corruption and initiate a mental revolution, but scammers are still...
What Price Glory?
It’s official. Batam City, the polluted playground for neighbouring Singaporeans seeking sex, is the best, most attractive and smartest city...
Winnie the ‘Penipu’
An elderly beggar who wore a tattered Winnie the Pooh costume has been deemed a scammer following reports that he...
Greed Is Great
Celebrities were among thousands of Indonesians tricked into investing in a fraudulent tissue business that offered unfeasibly large profits. The...
The Fake Rice That Never Was
Lazy journalists, racist netizens and opportunistic politicians almost convinced the world that Indonesia was facing a plastic rice scare. On...
Sex in the City
Police are showing a lot of interest in a high-class prostitution ring that provided actresses and models to government officials,...
Save the Children from Hypocrisy
The government claims that its ban on alcohol sales in convenience stores is motivated solely by a desire to protect...
Turning Water Into … Water
Indonesia’s top Islamic authority is warning the country’s Muslims to beware of fake holy water being marketed as a miracle...
Car Theft Hoaxes
“There’s a new method of car theft,” a colleague breathlessly told me last week. “Thieves throw an egg at your...
Small Change, Big Scam
In recent months I have been repeatedly short-changed at minimarts, mostly at Indomaret, which started business in 1988 and now...