Victims receive a quarter of the money frozen
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, known as OJK, says its anti-scam centre has blocked 702,833 accounts suspected of involvement in financial fraud and returned Rp207.16 billion, about $11.4 million, to victims since operations began on November 22, 2024.
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Authorities have frozen Rp825.2 billion, about $45.4 million, linked to suspected fraudulent transactions. The amount returned represents about 25.1% of that total. For every Rp100 frozen, roughly Rp25 has reached victims, leaving about Rp75 outside the amount returned so far.
The Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre, or IASC, has received and verified information about 1,372,483 suspected accounts. The 702,833 accounts blocked represent approximately 51.2% of that figure. Accounts and victims are different measures: a scam can send money through several accounts, while one person can make more than one complaint.
OJK coordinates the handling of fraud reports with financial institutions and government agencies. Its central message to victims is urgent: report a suspected scam quickly, before the money moves through more accounts and services.
The latest cumulative figures were released without a reporting cutoff date or a timetable for returning the remaining frozen funds. Separately, OJK's Task Force for the Eradication of Illegal Financial Activities said it identified and shut down 1,489 illegal financial entities and activities between January and September 2026.
Those figures describe two connected parts of consumer protection: trying to recover money after fraud and shutting down financial operations that expose people to further harm. For victims awaiting repayment, the practical difference is whether money has merely been stopped or has actually reached their account.
Why the first 10 minutes matter
OJK has urged victims to report scams within 10 minutes. Friderica Widyasari Dewi, its chief executive for financial services business conduct, consumer education and protection, said the average reporting delay in Indonesia was 12 hours.
Dewi compared the speed of reporting in Indonesia with practice abroad:
Abroad, reports are typically made within 10 minutes. Here, the average is 12 hours.
Twelve hours is 720 minutes, or 72 times the recommended reporting window. During that interval, scammers can move money through bank accounts, electronic wallets, marketplaces and cryptocurrency platforms, making the route harder to follow.
A freeze stops money from being moved out of an account. Returning it is the later step that puts money back in a victim's hands. Speed matters because authorities and financial institutions need to reach the funds while they are still somewhere that can act on the report.
OJK's advice to report within 10 minutes sets a target for immediate action. Victims who discover fraud later should still report it promptly. Waiting longer gives criminals more time to move the money again.
How the recovery effort has grown
IASC's earlier figures show the scale of reports and losses building over its first year. Between November 22, 2024, and October 16, 2025, it received 299,237 scam reports involving Rp7 trillion in reported losses. Of 487,378 reported accounts, 94,344 were blocked, securing Rp376.8 billion.
By January 14, 2026, complaints had risen to 432,637, with reported losses of Rp9.1 trillion and Rp436.88 billion blocked. That was an increase of 133,400 complaints and Rp2.1 trillion in reported losses from the October snapshot.
The main milestones are:
- November 22, 2024: IASC began operating.
- October 16, 2025: Cumulative reports reached 299,237, involving Rp7 trillion in losses.
- January 12, 2026: Recorded returns reached Rp161 billion for 1,070 victims.
- January 14, 2026: Complaints reached 432,637 and frozen funds reached Rp436.88 billion.
- January 21, 2026: OJK held a ceremony in Jakarta marking the return of recovered money.
- January to September 2026: The illegal finance task force shut down 1,489 entities and activities.
From blocked bank accounts to money returned
The January recovery figures offer a more concrete picture of who had received money. Through January 12, IASC had returned Rp161 billion to 1,070 victims, using funds blocked across 14 banks.
OJK marked those repayments at a January 21 ceremony in Jakarta attended by its chair, Mahendra Siregar, Dewi, and Mokhamad Misbakhun, chair of the House of Representatives' Commission XI. Bank leaders, police, communications ministry representatives and scam victims also attended.
Mahendra described the repayment effort as a joint commitment by public agencies and the financial services industry to protect consumers and strengthen trust. Dewi said increasingly complex fraud, including schemes operating across national borders, required institutions to work together.
The latest Rp207.16 billion returned is Rp46.16 billion above the January 12 figure of Rp161 billion, an increase of about 28.7%. The latest amount frozen, Rp825.2 billion, is Rp388.32 billion above the Rp436.88 billion recorded on January 14.
January's figures also show the size of the recovery challenge. The Rp436.88 billion blocked by January 14 amounted to roughly 4.8% of the Rp9.1 trillion in losses reported by that date. The current return rate of 25.1% uses frozen funds as its starting point, so readers need to keep the two calculations separate: one compares frozen money with reported losses, while the other compares repayments with frozen money.
Shopping, jobs and false identities
Online shopping scams were the most common type identified in OJK's October 2025 account, with women the most frequent victims. Other recurring methods included fake calls, fraudulent job offers, investment schemes and scams conducted through social media.
By the January repayment event, officials were also highlighting romance scams. In these schemes, criminals use an apparent personal relationship to persuade someone to send money. The starting point differs from a shopping or investment offer, but the financial outcome can be the same: a transfer made under a false story.
Fraudsters have also copied the names, logos and corporate identities of legitimate financial institutions. A familiar company name on a message or website can make an approach appear trustworthy, which is why checking the identity behind an offer matters.
Satgas PASTI, the task force tackling illegal financial activity, warned about websites pretending to be IASC and people claiming to represent the centre. Victims seeking help therefore face a further risk from criminals presenting themselves as part of the recovery process.
Illegal lenders dominate the shutdowns
Illegal online lending accounted for 1,199 of the 1,489 financial entities and activities closed between January and September 2026. That is approximately 80.5% of the total, making lending the largest category by a wide margin.
The task force also shut down 250 illegal investment entities, 38 pawnshop operators without licences and two other illegal financial activities. Together, those categories account for the remaining 290 closures.
Illegal lenders promoted their services through websites and applications operating without authorisation, social media and instant messaging. Some offered quick loans while hiding interest rates and additional charges, leaving borrowers unable to see the full cost before accepting.
Reported practices also included misuse of personal information and abusive debt collection. For borrowers, the harm can extend beyond the original debt: information handed over during an application can become part of the pressure used against them.
OJK warned that illegal pawnshops present another set of risks. They may charge excessive interest, use unclear contracts and fail to protect customers' pledged assets. A pledged asset is an item left with a pawnshop as security for a loan, so weak safeguards can put both the borrower's money and property at risk.
Where victims can seek help
OJK directs victims to report financial scams through the IASC website at iasc.ojk.go.id. It also provides the free hotline 157, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for checking financial offers and seeking information.
The regulator recommends its "2L" rule: legal and logical. Legal means checking whether a provider has the required permission to operate. Logical means considering whether the promise makes financial sense, including the stated returns, borrowing costs and conditions.
A promise of fast cash deserves scrutiny when interest and fees are hidden. An investment pitch needs the same care when its appeal rests on an attractive return without a clear explanation of how that return would be generated.
OJK has identified women, children, students and people with disabilities among its financial inclusion priorities. Its response to fraud combines education with reporting and account blocking, because wider access to financial services also requires people to recognise deceptive offers and find help when something goes wrong.
What the next stage requires
IASC's January assessment identified rising complaint volumes, delayed reporting, the need for faster blocking, complex movements of stolen funds and the task of returning more money as continuing challenges. Each affects a different point between a victim's first transfer and a possible repayment.
For financial institutions and public agencies, the practical task is to act quickly across the services criminals use. For victims, the immediate action is to report promptly and use the correct channel. For borrowers and investors, checking licences and costs before sending money can prevent a loss that later proves difficult to recover.
The latest figures show a recovery operation handling more than 1.37 million suspected accounts, with Rp207.16 billion already returned. They also leave a substantial amount of frozen money outside completed repayments. Progress will matter most to households when further funds reach the people who lost them.
Key Points
- IASC has blocked 702,833 suspected scam accounts since its November 22, 2024 launch.
- Authorities have frozen Rp825.2 billion and returned Rp207.16 billion, about 25.1% of the frozen amount.
- OJK urges reporting within 10 minutes; it previously put Indonesia's average delay at 12 hours.
- Through January 12, 2026, Rp161 billion had been returned to 1,070 victims from funds blocked across 14 banks.
- The illegal finance task force shut down 1,489 entities and activities from January to September 2026, including 1,199 illegal online lenders.
- Victims can report through iasc.ojk.go.id and contact OJK's free hotline at 157.
