Watch Out for “Jambret” Around Monas Thamrin

Two weeks ago I lost my cellphone while I was running near Monas. A motorcycle riding “jambret” – a.k.a thief – snatched my phone when I was crossing from Monas to Thamrin. I was being careless, holding my phone in my hand and not cautious when the thief drove so close to me that I could clearly see the thief’s face. The man in the back was only a teenager, wearing an orange hoodie.

I immediately ran to my flat which fortunately was near Monas, only 2km from the location of the theft. I was worried because I didn’t put any password on the phone.

I borrowed my friend’s phone to block my Telkomsel and IM3 number. I wanted to secure my electronic money which was linked to the number. Apparently number blocking didn’t prevent the SIM card from receiving SMS and calls, but only blocked the SIM card from making outgoing calls, causing the electronic money to remain unsecured.

Current smartphone era causing us to have vital data in our phone like electronic money, email, contact, and others. Therefore I blocked my Ovo account and removed the device from Google, Office365, and Dropbox account. I tried to block my Gopay account, but unfortunately I couldn’t contact their customer service.

The thief seemed to have turn off the internet on the phone. I couldn’t connect to the phone using “Find My Phone” feature (https://www.google.com/android/find?u=0). If I could connect, I would wipe the data from the phone.

Replacing the IM3 SIM card was troublesome. I went to IM3 office on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, the nearest office to my flat which is open on Sunday. The receptionist said that I needed “Surat Keterangan Kehilangan” from the police to get a new SIM Card. I told her that the nearest police station, Polsubsektor Merdeka Barat, was empty because all the police officers were on patrol with Satpol PP, and I had to replace the SIM card to protect my electronic money. The receptionist was indifferent, told me to come back tomorrow after I had the document. I asked her if she would be responsible if my electronic money was taken by the thief. After several arguments, finally the receptionist passed us on to customer service.

The customer service informed me that replacing the SIM Card required me to switch my plan to postpaid and paid upfront deposits for 3 months. I felt exploited and IM3 took advantage of my desperate situation. Having no other choice considering I have been using the number since college, I gave in to the requirement.

Key takeaways from this theft:

  1. Always secure your cellphone using a password, face ID, or some other method
  2. We should not hold our cellphone when we are outside
  3. Always be careful when walking or crossing, especially if a driver drives too close to us

Have you experienced theft? Please share in the comments section.


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