The Denpasar District Court panel on Thursday, 5 March 2026, handed\ndown sentences to 38 defendants in a case of online fraud carried out\nvia love scam connected to an international network. The panel, chaired\nby Iman Luqmanul Hakim, sentenced 37 defendants to one year\nimprisonment, with a Rp 20 million fine, subsiding into 20 days of\ndetention if not paid. The court stated: \u2018The defendants were found to\nhave collectively manipulated electronic information using fake\nidentities to deceive victims via electronic media.\u2019 Meanwhile, one\nfemale defendant, Eva Hayrany Simbolon, was sentenced to 10 months in\nprison. The panel considered Eva\u2019s condition of giving birth while in\ncustody in the case. The defendants were charged under Article 35 in\nconjunction with Article 51(1) of the Electronic Information and\nTransactions Act (UU ITE) in conjunction with Article 20(1), (2), and\n(3).<\/p>\n
The panel assessed that the elements of the offence as alleged by the\nprosecutor had been fulfilled because the defendants, collectively, used\nelectronic means and fake identities to carry out fraud against\nvictims.<\/p>\n
This case is one of the cybercrime cases with the greatest number of\ndefendants tried at Denpasar District Court, with the fraud network\nconnected to overseas. The case began with the disclosure of online\nfraud by police, who uncovered suspicious activity at several houses in\nDenpasar in mid-2025. After raids at several locations, police detained\n38 individuals suspected of being online fraud operators targeting\nforeign victims. In court, it emerged that the defendants worked as\noperators tasked with seeking potential victims through the Telegram\napplication.<\/p>\n
The modus operandi involved sending messages at random to potential\nvictims on the pretext of \u2018wrong message send\u2019. When victims responded,\nthe defendants then built communication by impersonating foreign women\nusing fake photos and identities. The defendants created Telegram\naccounts with the fake identities named Elsa Jansson and Sophia\nElena.<\/p>\n
Once communication was established, the defendants extracted personal\ninformation from victims such as name, address, and other data. This\ninformation was then collected and passed on to other networks for\nfurther fraud.<\/p>\n
In court, it also emerged that the defendants operated in an\norganised manner. They worked as operators tasked with locating and\ncompiling victim data, while the main operators of the fraud network\nwere based in Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Trial facts also revealed that the defendants reportedly worked every\nday for 12 hours, from midnight to daytime, with a minimum target of\neight victims per day.<\/p>\n
Regarding remuneration, the leaders received salaries of US$300 per\nmonth. The broadcasters earned US$200 per month, plus a US$1 bonus for\neach victim data successfully collected.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/37-love-scam-defendants-jailed-for-one-year-mother-who-gave-birth-in-custody-receives-10-months-1772705600", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }