The Bali Renters Organization (BRN) received a complaint about the disappearance of 30 rental cars taken by their clients. The thieves used a long-term rental scam—they would rent a car for a month, make regular payments, and then disappear in the second month.
“We tracked and pursued the fraudsters for two days, and in the end, we managed to recover 28 cars. The remaining two are still missing, as their GPS trackers have been disabled,” said BRN Bali’s head, Gusti.
“When the renters stopped responding, we started to suspect something was wrong,” Gusti continued. “We conducted a small investigation and found that the cars had already been handed over to other people, and some had even been taken off the island to Java. Fortunately, our BRN team in Java acted quickly and helped capture the criminals.”
Of course, the fraudsters didn’t just steal the cars; in some cases, they also forged license plates and documents.
“Car rental scams have happened before, but this is the largest case I’ve encountered in my time at BRN Bali,” Gusti emphasized.
The stolen vehicles included not only budget cars but also luxury models, such as the Toyota Alphard, Mini Cooper, and Mercedes-Benz. Despite BRN’s strict security measures—mandatory GPS trackers, deposits, and document verification—criminals keep finding ways to bypass them.
“On some cars, we installed up to five GPS trackers, but if someone is determined to commit fraud, they are always one step ahead,” Gusti lamented.
BRN Bali representative Dendi Satrio revealed that this was just part of a larger problem. Another 65 rental cars from companies outside of BRN also fell victim to scammers.
“We (BRN) deployed 100 people to find these cars. The scheme was simple: the fraudsters would rent vehicles and then resell them at a low price—40 to 50 million rupiah (approximately $2,500–$3,100),” Dendi explained.
The recovered cars were found in various locations—from Denpasar, Kintamani, and Bedugul to other regions beyond Bali. It remains unclear whether the fraudsters themselves have been arrested.
Sources: tribunbali, rn
You can add one right now!