Write It Down! This Is A Fraud Mode Aimed At Stock Investors

Illustration. (Jason Briscoe / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The number of stock investors during the pandemic grew significantly. The latest data from the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) shows that the number of stock investors on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) as of 19 November 2020 has reached 1,503,682.

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were an additional 417,366 Single Investor Identification (SID) or an increase of 28 percent throughout 2020. These growth figures show that stock investment is an investment choice for people from various regions in Indonesia amid the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increasing attractiveness of the Indonesian people to invest in stocks is supported by the ease and affordability of capital in investing in stocks. However, amidst the ease of investing in stocks that can be done online based on applications with smartphones and the affordability of investment capital, stock investors need to be aware of the various fraud modes that are now lurking.

"The mode of fraud targeting stock investors is increasingly sophisticated and diverse targeting new investors in the region. There are various modes of fraud targeting stock investors," said PT Indo Premier Sekuritas Head of Marketing, Paramita Sari in a statement to VOI, Friday, 11 December.

He also explained that initially the scammers 'main target was breaking into investors' accounts. They are eyeing personal or personal username, password and secure PIN.

Fraudsters usually contact victims claiming to be Indo Premier or IPOT official employees who ask for usernames, passwords, secure PINs, and other important personal data, even though these data are private and should not be known by other parties. Indo Premier never asks for a username, password and a secure PIN because these are personal.

It doesn't just stop there, the fraud mode also has a new face where fraudsters duplicate official Instagram (IG) securities accounts that have blue ticks with fake accounts that look and contain exactly the same appearance.

"They initially followed accounts that had just joined. So don't be surprised, once you join the official @indopremier account, they will immediately be followed by these fake accounts," he appealed.

Fraudsters with fake IG accounts target victims by DMing IPOT friends who just followed @indopremier. Fraudsters act as if they want to provide help or favors. Fraudsters act by asking for personal data, from phone numbers, to asking for photos of ATMs, which in the end also commit fraud by asking the victim to transfer some money to the fraudster's account.

There are many ways that fraudsters can get the victim's contact number and launch the action. In carrying out the action, the fraudster contacted the victim and with a sweet tone they seemed to want to provide assistance, which ultimately asked the victim to transfer some money to the fraudster's account or virtual account (VA).

"The only purpose of transferring funds for investment is only to the Customer Fund Account (RDN) on behalf of the customer himself, not transferred to any account other than RDN itself," he said.

Increase Alertness

Paramita also appealed to investors and potential investors in Indo Premier Online Trading (IPOT) to be more vigilant about the various fraud modes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which has made many people justify various ways to cheat. Moreover, currently the fraudsters have targeted victims in the regions.

"If so far more victims are in big cities, now scammers are targeting investors and potential investors in the regions along with the growth of new investors in the regions. Therefore, education regarding the real threat of these fraudsters needs to be intensified. to be widely known by investors and potential investors so that there are no new victims, "he explained

He also reminded IPOT investors and potential investors to be more vigilant and careful. When you find irregularities or experience certain problems related to stock investment, you should immediately contact an official call center or other service channels such as email and official social media accounts with a blue tick and most importantly always maintain the confidentiality of personal data.