Online Scam Rises, Non-procedural PMI Departure To Sihanoukville Cambodia From Medan Is Thwarted

DOCUMENTATION / As many as 14 Indonesian citizens who were victims of "online scam" companies from Cambodia were repatriated to Indonesia on Monday (8/8/2022). ANTARA/HO-Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

JAKARTA - The government prevented the departure of 214 non-procedural Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) from Medan, North Sumatra, to Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

According to the Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, the hundreds of PMIs are most likely victims of online scams who were promised jobs in Cambodia but without going through the correct procedures.

"This shows that the non-procedural recruitment and departure process (PMI) is still happening," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, August 25.

Following the foiled departure of the PMIs, the North Sumatra Regional Police also arrested three recruiters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs appreciated the arrests, which encouraged early detection and intensive law enforcement measures to continue to reduce the number of online scam victims abroad. The reason, said Judha, is that the number of Indonesian citizens who are victims of online scams in Cambodia continues to increase.

In 2021, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh has handled and repatriated 119 Indonesian citizens who were victims of online scams. Meanwhile, in the January-August 2022 period, the number of Indonesian citizens who were victims of online scams jumped to 446 people, including 241 who had been repatriated to Indonesia.

"Similar cases do not only occur in Cambodia, but also in Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines," said Judha.

He explained that the handling of online scam cases targeting Indonesian citizens had been carried out from a technical level in collaboration with relevant ministries and institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Manpower, Police, BP2MI.

This effort was also carried out through high-level diplomacy carried out by the Indonesian Foreign Minister in a meeting with the Cambodian Minister of Home Affairs and the Cambodian Police Chief some time ago.

In addition, Judha emphasized that preventive measures need to be actively carried out by the general public.

"We don't get tired of telling the public to understand the modes of fraud, including through social media, with the lure of high salaries without asking for qualifications, unable to verify the company's credibility," he said.

He also appealed to the public not to hesitate to report if they know of a non-procedural PMI departure.

"Working abroad must go through the right procedures, leaving using a work visa and not using a visa-free tourist visit," said Judha.