OJK: 557.751 Accounts Blocked as of June related to Scam Cases

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JAKARTA - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) revealed that a total of 557,751 accounts were blocked out of a total of 608,168 accounts reported by victims to the Indonesia Anti-Scam Center (IASC) related to financial fraud (scam) from November 2024 to the end of June 2026.

The total funds of the victims who have been blocked or secured are recorded at Rp674.1 billion, while the funds that have been returned to the victims are Rp196.93 billion.

"I believe this figure is just the tip of the iceberg because not all victims report that they have been victims of fraud," said Chairperson of the OJK Commissioner Board Friderica Widyasari Dewi as reported by ANTARA, Monday, July 6.

Friderica assessed that there were still many victims who were reluctant to report fraud cases because they felt ashamed or considered it inappropriate to be a victim, including those who worked in the financial sector. According to him, this condition indicates that the number of cases recorded is likely to be far below the actual condition.

He also emphasized that the amount of funds that could be secured through IASC coordination showed that quick action could protect consumers. However, when funds have been broken up, transferred, converted, or transferred abroad, the chances of recovering them become much smaller.

From the perspective of anti-money laundering (APU), Friderica explained that fraud practices generally use money mules, nominee accounts, various payment channels, merchants and sub-merchants, virtual assets, and cross-border networks.

These various channels can hide the perpetrators, disguise the origin of funds, and make it difficult to track illegal financial transactions. Therefore, APU is not only a compliance obligation, but also a defense mechanism to cut off the flow of funds from fraud.

Friderica explained that the implementation of strong customer due diligence, identification of beneficial owners and controlling parties, monitoring transactions, and timely reporting of suspicious transactions are important steps to prevent misuse of the financial system.

OJK assesses that there are four aspects that need to continue to be strengthened, namely governance and compliance, effectiveness of customer due diligence, monitoring and detection based on technology, and prevention efforts.

"These four priorities must be supported by strong partnerships to enable the strengthening of data exchange, intelligence exchange, and cross-sector and cross-country coordination," said Friderica.

In addition, OJK emphasized four steps that need to be strengthened together, namely accelerating and streamlining information exchange, improving the quality of intelligence exchange, accelerating the blocking of accounts and assets, and building capacity and sharing knowledge among stakeholders.

OJK also invites all stakeholders to strengthen three common commitments, namely strengthening anti-money laundering and terrorism financing prevention (APU PPT), improving detection capabilities through fraud detection systems and case handling mechanisms, and deepening collaboration at the national and cross-country levels.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia Gita Sabharwal said that the losses due to cyber fraud in the East Asia and Southeast Asia region in 2023 had reached around 37 billion US dollars, based on data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

"The impact has also been felt in Indonesia. One in four Indonesian consumers admit to having lost money due to fraud," said Gita.

He reminded that behind every case of fraud there are individuals who lose trust, families who lose savings from hard work, business actors who experience operational disruptions, to entrepreneurs who lose capital to develop their businesses.

Beyond financial losses, every successful scam also erodes trust in digital financial services and weakens the foundation of financial inclusion.

Gita views Indonesia as being at the forefront of digital transformation with more than 57 million QRIS users, the majority of which are MSMEs. However, he also reminded of the risk of financial crime along with technological transformation.

According to him, through a strategic partnership with the OJK, UNODC has also supported Indonesia in strengthening the handling of financial crimes related to fraud and encouraging cross-country cooperation.

Gita assessed that Indonesia has shown leadership in building a collaborative approach through the establishment of IASC and strengthening cooperation between the government, law enforcement, and the financial services sector.

"Strengthening this trust is our shared responsibility. By working together to prevent fraud, we can ensure that Indonesia's digital future remains dynamic and safe," said Gita.