Beware of E-Ticket SMS Scams Impersonating the Attorney General's Office! Controlled from China, 3,000 Numbers Targeted Daily
Beware of E-Ticket SMS Scams Impersonating the Attorney General’s Office! Controlled from China, 3,000 Numbers Targeted Daily
- Foe Peace/VIVA
Jakarta, VIVA – Be wary of receiving SMS messages containing e-ticket links. It may be part of an international fraud network that has just been uncovered by the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim).
More surprisingly, this cybercrime operation is controlled from China. The Cyber Directorate of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit has uncovered a syndicate that spreads SMS blasts containing fake e-ticket payment links, impersonating the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office.
The website’s appearance is made almost identical to the official website, so many victims are deceived. This was revealed by the Director of Special Cyber Crimes of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit, Brigadier General of Police Himawan Bayu Aji.
“In the report, it is known that 11 phishing links are circulating, which have an appearance similar to the official website for e-ticket payments belonging to the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office with the original URL,” he said on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
The modus operandi is quite sophisticated. Victims receive messages from unknown numbers informing them of traffic violations. When the link is clicked, victims are directed to a fake website that is designed to be very convincing. Unwittingly, victims enter personal data and credit card information.
“Because the victims believe the website is genuine, they enter their personal data and credit card information,” he said.
Once the data is entered, the perpetrators immediately carry out illegal debit transactions. In one day, the SIM box devices used by this syndicate can send phishing SMS messages to 3,000 mobile phone numbers.
Investigators have arrested five suspects in Central Java and Banten. However, behind these perpetrators on the ground, there are key actors who control the operation from abroad.
“The operation is that perpetrators, who are Chinese citizens, control Indonesian citizens as perpetrators in Indonesia, to insert SIM cards into SIM boxes or modem pools. Then the system is controlled remotely from China,” he said.
From this fraudulent practice, the syndicate is suspected of reaping fantastic profits. Based on the accumulation of crypto account transactions, the profits pocketed range from IDR 235 million to IDR 890 million between 2025 and January 2026.
For their actions, the suspects are charged with Article 51 in conjunction with Article 35 of Law Number 1 of 2024 and/or Article 45A Paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 28 Paragraph 1 of Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning the Second Amendment to Law No. 11/2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions.