Indonesia Becomes The Target Of 'Job Scam', Commission IX Of The DPR: Serious Threat To The Protection Of Indonesian Workers

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the DPR, Nurhadi, highlighted the rise of job vacancy fraud that makes Indonesia the main target in the Asia Pacific region. According to him, this phenomenon is a serious threat to the protection of Indonesian job seekers.

"I am very concerned about the latest findings that Indonesia is the main target of job vacancy fraud in the Asia Pacific region. This is not just an ordinary digital crime, many modes of recruitment fraud have proven to lead to exploitation, forced labor, and even trafficking in persons," said Nurhadi, Wednesday, November 26.

"Therefore, this issue must be seen as a serious threat to the protection of the workforce and security of the community," he continued.

Nurhadi then encouraged the Government and job vacancies platforms and law enforcement officials to strengthen supervision and take action against the perpetrators.

"In the era of technological development, the modus operandi or working of the perpetrators is increasingly sophisticated. Including falsifying the identity of the company or official platform, so that people need to get stronger digital education and literacy so they don't become victims," he said.

The member of the House of Representatives commission in charge of employment matters also assessed that the government must provide convenience for victims to report. "I also ask that the mechanism for reporting and handling victims is facilitated, because so far many job seekers are ashamed or confused about where to report when they are trapped in a fraud scheme," said the NasDem legislator from the East Java electoral district.

Nurhadi also appealed to the public to be aware of work offers that are too promising and not transparent. According to him, the public can be aware of work fraud by paying attention to unreasonable promises.

"I invite the whole community to be more careful and not easily believe in work offers that sound too promising, especially if they are accompanied by requests for money, top-ups, or unclear administrative costs," said Nurhadi.

"If the job offer is too good to be true, the public needs to be careful and really verify the job offer," he said.

On the other hand, Nurhadi emphasized the importance of anticipatory surveillance measures that continue to repeat themselves. According to him, the role of the state is needed in protecting Indonesian job seekers.

"The government must be firm in taking action against this case. The state must be present in a more assertive and structured manner to protect job seekers from crimes that take advantage of their hopes and vulnerabilities. The security and safety of Indonesian workers, both domestically and abroad, must be a top priority," he concluded.

As is known, Jobstreet's parent company, SEEK reported 38 percent of job vacancies fraud in Asia Pacific targeting Indonesia, making it the country most hit by attacks. For the Asian region, Indonesia accounts for 62 percent of all job vacancy fraud cases.

The SEEK report also found a different targeting pattern between Australia and New Zealand compared to six other Asian countries "Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand". The perpetrators are said to have used increasingly sophisticated strategies to deceive job seekers, based on findings from the period July 2024 to June 2025.

Fraudsters are nowadays said to be increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to create more sophisticated types of fraud. In fact, they often disguise themselves as Jobstreet staff to contact job seekers in various ways, including short messages and social media.

As of October 2025, SEEK recorded the five categories of vacancies most often used by actors in Indonesia. The Administration & Office Support category ranks at the top with 29.36 percent, followed by Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics at 21.06 percent; Retail & Consumer Products at 12.23 percent; Trades & Services at 7.98 percent; and Hospitality & Tourism at 5.74 percent.