Indonesian Citizens' Money Siphoned: Rp9.1 Trillion Lost, About 1,000 People Cry Out Daily

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The Financial Services Authority (OJK) notes that as of 14 January 2026 there are 432,637 consumer complaint reports collected by the Indonesia Anti Scam Center (IASC). Member of the OJK Board of Commissioners for Education and Consumer Protection, Friderica Widyasari Dewi, explained that OJK has blocked more than 397,000 accounts. ‘There is Rp 9.1 trillion of the public’s funds reported lost to scams, of which IASC has managed to block or recover Rp 432 billion,’ she told a working meeting with Commission XI at the DPR Building in Jakarta on Thursday (7 March 2026). The woman known as Kiki continued that the highest distribution of scam reports originates from Java Island, still dominating more than 303,000 reports. ‘Followed by Sumatra and the rest,’ she added. The reported scam modalities are diverse, ranging from shopping transaction fraud with 73,000 reports, followed by fake calls, investment fraud, employment fraud, and fraud with prize offers. Given the rapid development of scam activity, Kiki said OJK highly appreciates support from all stakeholders and the public in eradicating scams and illegal online lending activities. On the other hand, OJK admits there are challenges in handling these scams, including a surge in complaints reaching around 1,000 reports per day or 3-4 times higher than in other countries. ‘What we also do in terms of coordination and cooperation with other countries is not as much as what exists in Indonesia. Perhaps around 150 reports per day, 300, 400, but in Indonesia it can reach a thousand reports per day,’ she noted. She believes this shows the high escalation of fraud crimes among Indonesians. The challenge is compounded by the fact that around 80% of new reports are submitted more than 12 hours after the incident, while in practice funds from scams can move out of victims’ accounts in less than 1 hour. ‘That time gap is the crucial factor in determining whether victims’ funds can still be saved,’ she added. On the other hand, the pattern of fund flight has also become more complex, no longer circulating only within the banking sector, as victims’ funds are quickly redirected to various instruments and digital ecosystems. ‘From accounts in other banks, e-wallets, crypto assets, digital gold, to e-commerce platforms and other digital financial assets. This condition requires increasing the speed of cross-system blocking, cross-industry participants, and cross-sector collaboration,’ she concluded.