Countering the Digital Fraud Industry

The suspects earned profits from July 2025 to May 2026, targeting approximately 5,000 people during this period. Central Java Police Cyber Crime Director Commissioner Himawan Susanto Saragih stated that the fraud modus operandi is typical love scamming, creating artificial closeness with victims before exploiting them financially. ‘Perpetrators first build emotional rapport with victims using fake identities and fictitious social media accounts,’ he said on 23 May 2026. Police have arrested 38 suspects, including 27 Indonesians, 4 Myanmar nationals, and 7 Nepalese. Separately, the National Police’s Cyber Crime Unit (Dittipidsiber Bareskrim Polri) dismantled a phishing tools syndicate based in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. Two suspects, GWL (24) and FYT (25), were apprehended; GWL produced, sold, and developed phishing tools independently, while FYT handled crypto wallet management for the illicit proceeds. The scheme defrauded 34,000 victims. Public vulnerability to scams remains high, as evidenced by a recent fake cooperative investment case in Salatiga, underscoring continued susceptibility to such frauds.