Working Hard, Yet Indonesians Lose Rp9.1 Trillion to Online Scams
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Have you ever imagined what a pile of money worth Rp9.1 trillion would look like? That is the amount of money belonging to Indonesian citizens that has been stolen by online scam syndicates.
This shocking fact was first revealed by the Financial Services Authority (OJK). The agency recorded that as of 14 January 2026, there were 432,637 online scam reports compiled from the Indonesia Anti Scam Center (IASC).
Friderica Widyasari Dewi, who at the time served as a Commissioner of the OJK for Education and Consumer Protection, explained that they had blocked more than 397,000 accounts.
“There is Rp9.1 trillion in public funds reported lost to these scams, where the IASC has successfully blocked or saved funds amounting to Rp432 billion,” said Friderica, who now serves as Chair of the OJK.
The woman, affectionately known as Kiki, continued that the highest distribution of scam reports came from Java, which still dominates with more than 303,000 reports, followed by Sumatra.
The reported scam methods vary, starting from shopping transaction fraud with 73,000 reports, followed by fake calls, investment scams, job scams, and scams promising prizes.
The OJK admits there are specific 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 are also doing in coordination and cooperation with other countries is not as many as in Indonesia. Maybe 150 reports per day, 300, 400, but in Indonesia it can reach a thousand reports per day,” she stated.
According to her, this indicates the high escalation of fraud crimes in Indonesian society. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that most reports, or around 80%, are only submitted more than 12 hours after the incident. Meanwhile, in practice, scam proceeds can be transferred and leave the victim’s account in less than 1 hour.
“This time gap is a crucial factor in determining whether the victim’s funds can still be saved or not,” she added.
On the other hand, the pattern of fund flight is becoming increasingly complex, posing its own challenges. If in the past it only circulated in the banking sector, now victims’ funds do not stop at one bank account but are quickly transferred 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 situation demands increased speed in cross-system blocking, across industry players, and also across sectors,” she concluded.