Indonesia fights cyber syndicates and human trafficking across ASEAN

Jakarta (ANTARA) - As the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka reaches its two-year mark, protecting Indonesian citizens in the digital space and dismantling transnational crime syndicates have become central pillars of national security policy.

Decisive measures are being taken to break the chain of online scams and human trafficking—crimes that have targeted thousands of Indonesian citizens, both domestically and abroad.

Through integrated cooperation among national ministries, police forces, and regional allies across Southeast Asia, the government has achieved substantial progress in law enforcement, preventive measures, and the repatriation of stranded victims.

Yet over the past two years, the scale and complexity of online fraud have grown rapidly.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK), operating through the Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre (IASC), recorded financial losses totaling Rp9.1 trillion (approximately US$556 million) between November 2024 and December 2025, with more than 411,000 cases reported.

This picture aligns with findings from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) in its "State of Scam in Indonesia Report 2025," which showed that 66 percent of the population has faced a digital fraud attempt.

The human toll behind these financial statistics is equally severe.

Foreign Affairs Ministry data reveals more than 7,600 cases linked to online scam syndicates across Southeast Asia between 2021 and 2025.

Cambodia became a major epicenter, ensnaring over 4,300 Indonesian citizens in forced-labor scam compounds. In Myanmar, around 1,100 Indonesians were caught up in similar illegal facilities.

Authorities are also tracking a troubling pattern where repatriated citizens fall back into the same criminal networks due to economic pressures. During this period, Foreign Ministry records identified at least 1,508 Indonesians directly tied to human trafficking pipelines.

In response to the surge in cases, the national Human Trafficking Task Force—working alongside the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police (Bareskrim Polri), the Foreign Ministry, and commercial banks—has accelerated emergency response operations.

The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh oversaw the phased rescue and repatriation of thousands of citizens from scam hubs in Cambodian regions like Kampot, Sihanoukville, and Poipet.

To assist victims stranded abroad, Indonesian humanitarian diplomacy secured the waiver of overstay fines for more than 4,300 citizens.

Diplomatic missions also provided emergency documentation, issuing Travel Documents in Lieu of Passports (SPLP) free of charge to ensure safe passage home.

International cooperation

This progress relies on strengthened bilateral synergy between Indonesia and neighboring Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

In cooperation with Cambodia, the Indonesian government has tightened the mechanisms of a Joint Working Group involving the National Police of Cambodia.

This partnership includes real-time intelligence sharing on scam locations, joint border raids, and coordinated deportation procedures.

The cooperation was bolstered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on combating transnational crime, aimed at freezing illicit money flows and securing evidence.

The issue of online scam operations was specifically highlighted by President Prabowo Subianto during a bilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Jakarta last August.

During the meeting between the two leaders, Indonesia and Thailand agreed to boost intelligence sharing, conduct joint investigations, and track suspicious financial transactions to dismantle criminal networks.

They also supported the creation of a Transnational Referral Mechanism (TRM)—a breakthrough designed to accelerate the identification and safe, dignified repatriation of victims of transnational crime.

President Prabowo expressed appreciation for Thailand’s help in facilitating the return of 1,000 Indonesian scam victims.

Given that Thailand’s borders are frequently used as a primary transit route for the illegal trafficking of Indonesian citizens toward online scam operations in Myanmar and Cambodia, Indonesia is intensifying its coordination with the Royal Thai Police.

This cooperation is being implemented through integrated immigration patrols at air and land border entry points, as well as the establishment of a "fast-track repatriation" channel for victims of employment fraud trapped in border zones.

Meanwhile, addressing conditions in Myanmar required multi-track diplomacy due to ongoing internal conflicts.

Scam operations in Myanmar are concentrated in volatile border zones like Myawaddy, controlled by non-state armed groups outside central government authority.

In response, the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon has engaged in intensive coordination with local authorities and various other stakeholders to navigate these conflict zones.

Thousands of Indonesian citizens, who had been coerced into working as operators for these scams, have been successfully evacuated and repatriated in stages through specialized rescue operations, with most crossing via the Thai border.

ASEAN collaboration

Within the framework of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), Indonesia has taken the lead in automating early warning systems and standardizing the protection of migrant workers through information technology—measures designed to prevent recruitment via fraudulent job offers.

At an international conference on online scams in Phnom Penh last September, Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno stressed that addressing online fraud and gambling requires a rapid, cross-border response.

Indonesia views online fraud and gambling as a form of organized crime involving a multitude of actors and jurisdictions—ranging from recruiters, operators, and technology providers to money mules and money launderers.

Because each link in the chain may be located in a different country, an effective response requires strong connectivity between institutions and across national borders.

"These crimes are interconnected; therefore, our response must also be interconnected," Havas affirmed.

On that occasion, Indonesia showcased its operational models, including the Task Force for Combating Illegal Financial Activities (Satgas PASTI), the IASC, and the "Frontier+" platform.

The event culminated in the Phnom Penh Declaration on Combating Online Scams, bringing together 28 nations and 7 international organizations to advance law enforcement, information exchange, asset tracing, and victim protection.

Digital security transformation

Domestically, the government has built rapid response systems against social engineering tactics.

The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry, working with the OJK, Bank Indonesia, and the police, introduced automated systems to block bank accounts and phone numbers used by fraudsters.

The ministry handled 141,110 scam reports between 2016 and 2026, mostly from platforms under Meta.

Between November 2024 and August 2026, the OJK and PASTI Task Force processed 668,441 reports, verifying 1,276,688 accounts and blocking 659,419 of them.

These actions froze Rp771.2 billion (US$46.7 million) in illicit funds and returned Rp206 billion (US$12.5 million) to victims across 19 banks.

These domestic structural interventions are reinforced by strict updated regulations governing the digital space and enhanced screening protocols at international departure gates to identify potential trafficking victims before they embark on fraudulent job offers abroad.

As the Prabowo-Gibran administration marks two years in office, these consolidated diplomatic and technological efforts highlight a proactive state strategy dedicated to upholding citizen safety and uprooting transnational cybercrime networks at their roots.

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