Cyber Experts Support Police Investigation into Fake e-Ticket Scam with Massive Victim Numbers
The Cyber Crime Directorate (Dittipidsiber) of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate has uncovered an SMS phishing scam mimicking the official e-ticket system website. Cybersecurity and digital forensics expert Alfons Tanujaya from Vaksincom urged authorities to pursue the scam syndicate to its leadership.
“This crime appears to be organised given their sophisticated identity concealment methods and use of Facebook Pixel IDs and TikTok Pixel IDs to profile the success of their scam sites,” Alfons stated.
Tanujaya praised the police’s enforcement action, emphasising the importance of protecting public digital security. He noted that digital fraud tactics are continuously evolving. “This requires attention from Indonesian law enforcement and judicial bodies as digital crime has become massive, victimising countless people and undermining public trust in the digital realm,” he explained.
“Yet digitalisation plays a crucial role and provides multiplier effects for national economic development. If scam activities proliferate, the public will become reluctant to trust and use digital channels, negatively impacting Indonesia’s digital progress,” he added.
Tanujaya supports thorough investigation of the case, including the arrest of the Chinese national who is believed to be the mastermind. He expressed confidence that police coordination with Chinese authorities could apprehend both syndicate leaders.
“If the Indonesian police coordinate with Chinese law enforcement, they should willingly assist because in many cases of scams targeting Chinese citizens originating from Indonesia, Indonesian law enforcement has extensively aided their Chinese counterparts,” Tanujaya explained.
He noted that scammers typically operate across borders, calculating that enforcement will be lax in countries where victims are not located. “Therefore, international cooperation becomes essential. In China, scammers face severe punishment, with some even receiving death sentences,” he added.
The Cyber Crime Directorate uncovered the SMS phishing scam impersonating the official e-ticket website, which is controlled by two Chinese nationals. The case emerged following a report from the Attorney General’s Office in December 2025 regarding circulation of fraudulent links impersonating government institutions.
Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo previously disclosed the case during a working session with Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta on 26 January. He announced that suspects had been identified.
“One of the prominent cyber crimes we are handling is the SMS blast phishing case using the e-ticket modus,” the Police Chief stated. Initial investigation found 11 phishing links and 5 international format telephone numbers used for the cyber crime. Similar cases were subsequently discovered at the Central Sulawesi Regional Police.
The SMS containing phishing links directed victims to fake e-ticket websites, where they were defrauded. Five individuals have been arrested so far, whilst police continue pursuing the Chinese national believed to be the intellectual mastermind of the syndicate.