– 5 min 30 read –

Chances are, if you have, you probably kept it to yourself.

Why? Because of shame.

And that’s exactly how scams thrive—through silence.

When we don’t talk about them, they happen again and again.

Today, I want to share a story with you.

It’s not just a true and intriguing tale; it’s a lesson that could protect you in both business and personal life.

Most of us assume that the only way to get ahead is by working honestly, within the bounds of the law.

But not everyone thinks that way.

There’s a whole army of people who find stealing a much more attractive option—and they’re frighteningly good at it.

Before you read any further, do me a favor: don’t laugh at this story.

You will be tempted to think how foolish I was, but read first, then comment.

Two months ago, I got a call from an unknown number.

The caller ID showed Chinese characters.

Always curious and on the lookout for new opportunities, I answered.

The person on the other end spoke to me in Chinese, calling me by my Chinese name (yes, I have one!).

He said he got my contact information from a mutual friend.

I was pleasantly surprised that I could still hold a conversation in Mandarin, despite not having practiced for several years.

My wife was there at the time, and I whispered to her, “Did you see that? I still have a decent level of Mandarin.”

I was so busy being proud of myself that I didn’t suspect a thing.

What I didn’t know was that this person had already done half of his job by speaking to me in Mandarin and making me feel good about myself.

A few days later, I agreed to meet him for lunch.

I was curious to find out who he was and what he wanted—maybe a new client, maybe a business opportunity.

When I arrived, he was waiting in front of the restaurant with a large plastic bag filled with fruits, which he offered to me.

He was small, skinny, lively, and a bit nervous.

Three seconds after we greeted each other, his sidekick arrived—a stocky man with a backpack.

I didn’t see him coming at all, he skirted a blind spot in my angle of vision and was moving very quickly.

No worries, I thought. Let’s have lunch.

I suggested a Chinese restaurant, thinking it would be nice for them.

We ordered, ate, and talked—in Mandarin.

When I was missing a word, I used Google Translate.

They warmly congratulated me on my Mandarin skills, and I was delighted.

Lock number 1 closes without a sound.

They told me they were construction workers, excavator operators.

They lived with seven others in a small apartment in a Jakarta suburb, working illegally with their passports confiscated by their boss.

Despite their tough conditions, they stayed because they earned two to three times more than they would in China, saving up money for the future.

I thought they might need help and offered to introduce them to some Chinese contacts who could assist them.

They immediately refused.

After a while, one of them finally got to the point.

While digging at a construction site in Bandung, they found a chest filled with old banknotes, gold ingots, and gold statues, along with a letter dated 1949.

They hid the treasure, afraid their boss would take it and send them back to China.

At this point, the story was still harmless, even amusing.

Whether true or not, it was original and intriguing.

Some small, unanswered questions faded under the influence of lunch, my pride in speaking Mandarin, and the captivating tale of hidden treasure.

Lock number 2 closes without a sound.

The man with the backpack became agitated and put his bag on the bench, telling me they had brought part of the treasure with them.

When I asked to see it, they pointed to a surveillance camera behind me.

I told myself that they were being extremely careful for ordinary workers, and yet I continued to suspect nothing.

They suggested we go somewhere more discreet and asked if I had come by car. We could go there to take a closer look.

Lock number 3 closes without a sound.

Here we are in the car. They get in the back and open the bag.

And then I see the following coming out of the bag:

• Charlie Chaplin from The Gold Rush (1925)
• Humphrey Bogart from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
• Sean Connery from Goldfinger (1964)
• Stewart Granger from King Solomon’s Mines (1950)
• Clint Eastwood from Gold for the Brave (1970)
• Matthew McConaughey from GOLD (2016)
• And several other fantasy figures linked to the yellow metal.

I came to my senses.

I weighed at arm’s length.

5 to 6 kg of gold lit up my car and my eyes.

I think that I had the famous gold fever without knowing it, if only for a moment.

I asked my 2 friends what I could do.

They offered me to buy the lot for a fraction of the value because they are stuck anyway.

They have nowhere to go with this gold. They are foreigners in Indonesia, speak neither English nor Bahasa, do not have their passports and work illegally.

We checked out some figures on the price of gold.

Here we had half a million USD in front of us.

They were only asking for 30 thousand USD to give me everything.

Lock number 4 closes without a sound.

I told them I was willing to try with a sample, suggesting they leave me an ingot so I could verify its authenticity before making any decisions.

The man with the backpack grew even more agitated, sweating profusely.

He pulled out a hacksaw, intending to cut a piece of the ingot for me.

I quickly stopped him, saying he wasn’t going to cut anything in my car.

The tension rose.

The other man pulled out another ingot with a small piece already cut off—how convenient.

He handed me the small piece, weighing about 5 grams.

Then, he took it back, saying it needed to be altered so no one would know it came from a cut ingot.

His accomplice nodded and pulled out a hammer, ready to deform the piece.

Again, I stopped him, telling him to put the hammer away.

The tension escalated.

At that moment, the man took the piece of gold and deformed it with his own teeth.

The situation had become tense and out of control.

They asked me to start the car and take them to a jewelry market to sell the gold.

Then I surprised them.

I grabbed the 5 grams of gold and pushed them out of the car.

I told them I would have it analyzed and call them back.

Reluctantly, they left.

Lock number 5 closes without a sound.

What happened next is more predictable.

I installed a security app on my phone, which identified their number as belonging to a notorious trafficker of fake gold.

A quick internet search revealed that this gang had already scammed several people in Indonesia using a protocol absolutely identical.

My “friend” tried to contact me for weeks, using various numbers. I blocked them all.

Eventually, he gave up.

The five locks suddenly reopened.

So, I wasn’t scammed after all. But that was close.

And I learned an important lesson—one that’s particularly relevant in the business world.

A lesson I hope will help you avoid falling into similar traps.

You might think you’d never fall for such an obvious scam.

But let me tell you, you could—and more easily than you think.

The purpose of this story is to remind you to be vigilant in business.

Don’t assume you’re too smart to be scammed. If you do, you’ve already lost.

Scammers train like war machines. When you face one, your chances of winning or escaping are slim.

I hope you enjoyed the story.

Stay safe, and if you ever have doubts, reach out to your favorite and trusted consultant, Cintasia, for safe advice and valuable insights on doing business in Indonesia!

PS: If you missed our March (2024) post on GOLD Mining in Indonesia, click here: Gold Mining Indonesia – Cintasia