Indonesia’s efforts to combat digital financial crime are showing tangible results. The Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre (IASC) has successfully recovered approximately USD10.06 million in stolen funds and returned the money to 1,070 scam victims, according to official data covering the period from November 22, 2024, to January 12, 2026.
The recovered funds were blocked across 14 banks used by fraud perpetrators, highlighting the growing coordination between regulators, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies in addressing increasingly complex digital scams.
A symbolic handover of the recovered funds was held in Jakarta and coordinated by the Financial Services Authority (OJK), which oversees the IASC under the Illegal Financial Activity Eradication Task Force (Satgas PASTI). The event was attended by senior officials from the House of Representatives’ Commission XI, OJK leadership, banking executives, the National Police, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, and several scam victims.
OJK’s Executive Head of Financial Consumer Protection, Friderica Widyasari Dewi, said the fund recovery reflects concrete collaboration between regulators, ministries, and the banking industry to protect the public.
“The return of scam victims’ funds is a real symbol of the state’s presence in protecting the public from financial crimes that are becoming increasingly complex, innovative, and difficult to anticipate,” Friderica said, as reported by InfoEkonomi.
Digital financial crime in Indonesia has intensified in recent years and often involves cross-border networks, making joint action essential. Authorities have identified multiple scam patterns, including online shopping fraud, impersonation and fake calls, investment scams, fake job offers, social media fraud, and the increasingly common romance or ‘love’ scams.
Friderica also highlighted major challenges in handling scam cases, such as surging complaint volumes, delayed reporting by victims, the need for faster account blocking, complex fund movements, and maximizing the recovery of stolen assets.
OJK Chairman Mahendra Siregar emphasized that recovering victims’ funds is critical to maintaining trust in the financial system and supporting national economic stability.
“Strong synergy and collaboration among all stakeholders are key to combating the various scam methods used by criminals. These crimes continue to evolve and must be anticipated collectively,” Mahendra said.
He also praised victims who came forward and shared their experiences, noting that their willingness to report cases helps strengthen prevention efforts and reinforces institutional commitment to fighting digital financial crime. The public is urged to report financial scams to the IASC as quickly as possible, as early reporting significantly increases the chances of fund recovery.
Echoing this message, House Commission XI Chairman Mokhamad Misbakhun described financial fraud as a serious form of white-collar crime that cannot be addressed in isolation.
“This is not an ordinary crime. White-collar crimes are sophisticated, both in their methods and technical execution,” he said.
Since its establishment, the IASC has received 432,637 scam reports, with total reported losses reaching approximately USD569 million. Of that amount, around USD27.3 million has been successfully blocked.
Scam reports can be submitted through the official IASC website at iasc.ojk.go.id. Authorities also warn the public to remain cautious of fake websites or individuals falsely claiming to represent the Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre.
Source: infoekonomi.id
Special Photo Credit: infoekonomi.id
