53 Women Over 45 Targeted in Love Scamming, Victims Lose Rp 1.1 Billion

East Java Regional Police (Polda Jatim), in collaboration with Immigration, have dismantled a fraud case involving romantic seduction, known as love scamming. A total of 53 victims suffered losses amounting to Rp 1.1 billion. Police have named three suspects in the case: Lilik Nurhaidah, an Indonesian citizen; GKG, also known as Gojo Kelvin Grace, a Ghanaian national; and AV, or Ace Vitus, from Ivory Coast. “We secured them through Immigration and subsequently discovered several devices, mobile phones, SIM cards, and other items suspected of being used as media for online fraud under the love scamming modus operandi. Working together with Immigration, we have detained several foreign nationals and one Indonesian citizen,” said East Java Police Cyber Crime Director, Senior Commissioner Bimo Ariyanto. In their scheme, the perpetrators used false identities. They utilised photos and videos belonging to other people, claiming to be Haji Kamar Zaki. The suspects posed as a successful Indonesian engineer working in the United States. The syndicate targeted women aged between 45 and 60 years. According to police, this age group was chosen to match the character portrayed by the perpetrators. “The suspects deliberately targeted female victims within the 45 to 60 age range to align with the profile of the perpetrator who claimed to be a mature haji, making it easier to build an emotional connection,” Bimo stated. The perpetrators then approached victims via Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, and various other social media platforms. They built intensive communication through text messages, phone calls, and video calls to gain the victims’ trust and make them feel they were in a romantic relationship. The suspects subsequently promised gifts to the victims, including watches, laptops, jewellery, and other high-value items claimed to be shipped from abroad. The suspects then pretended to send the items and claimed they were held by Customs. The suspects demanded ransom fees, with amounts requested from victims ranging from Rp 15 million to Rp 100 million, despite the promised goods never actually existing.