Former Bandung High Court Chief Falls Victim to Scam, Loses Rp 1 Billion

A former Chief Judge of the Bandung High Court, Mohamad Eka Kartika, 68, has fallen victim to a scam, losing Rp 1 billion from his bank account. The fraudsters contacted him on Thursday, 9 July 2026, posing as officials from the Population and Civil Registration Service (Disdukcapil). They requested that he update and digitise his data and pay an administrative fee. ‘My father just believed them. Then they said there was a certain amount to be paid,’ said the victim’s child, Zul Ahadi, in Bandung, West Java, over the weekend. Zul stated that his father did not suspect anything and immediately complied with the instructions. However, on Friday, 10 July 2026, the victim’s mobile phone suddenly turned off. When it was switched back on, the Rp 1 billion in his account had disappeared. ‘The phone was turned back on. A few hours later, he was informed about his account, and that was it, he was a victim. The money was gone,’ Zul said. He confirmed that he has reported the incident to a state-owned bank and the Financial Services Authority’s (OJK) Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre (IASC). However, the bank considered the outgoing transactions as legitimate.