$283 Million Lost to Financial Scams in Indonesia, 72,000 Accounts Blocked

Jakarta. Losses from scams and illegal financial activities in Indonesia have surged sharply, reaching Rp 4.6 trillion ($283 million) in just 10 months, authorities said Tuesday.

Friderica Widyasari Dewi, Head of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Division for Business Conduct Supervision, Consumer Education, and Protection, revealed the figures during the National Campaign Against Scams and Illegal Financial Activities in Jakarta.

“Since we launched the Indonesia Anti-Scam Center (IASC) in November 2024, the total losses reported by the public have already reached Rp 4.6 trillion,” Friderica said.

The spike follows the establishment of the IASC, which was created to combat scams and illegal financial schemes. Prior to its launch, studies over a 1.5-year period indicated losses around Rp 2 trillion. The 10 months since the center’s operations have seen that figure more than double.

The center receives 700–800 reports daily, far exceeding similar figures in neighboring countries such as Singapore (140–150 reports), Hong Kong (124), and Malaysia (130). Friderica noted that public awareness of the reporting mechanism is still growing.

Scammers reportedly siphon funds through multilayered schemes involving bank accounts, virtual accounts, e-commerce platforms, digital wallets, and cryptocurrency. Since its inception, IASC has received 225,281 reports and successfully blocked 72,145 of the 359,733 accounts flagged.

Earlier, on August 4, OJK reported blocking 66,271 accounts linked to scams, freezing Rp 348.3 billion in victim funds.

In addition, since the IASC officially launched on November 22, 2024, OJK has received 204,011 reports of illegal financial activities. Of these, 129,793 were submitted through Financial Services Providers (PUJK), and 74,218 were filed directly with IASC.

During the same period, OJK issued 86 written warnings to 72 PUJK, 13 formal instructions to 13 PUJK, and 23 fines against 22 PUJK. Coordination has also been strengthened with the Illegal Financial Activities Task Force (Satgas Pasti) to enhance oversight and enforcement.

“OJK will continue to strengthen supervision while ensuring public protection. We encourage more people to report scams so our efforts can be even more effective,” Friderica said.

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