Cybercrime by Foreign Citizens Continues

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Forty illegal foreign nationals suspected of committing cybercrimes walk in front of the Semarang Immigration Detention Center, Central Java, Monday (22/4/2019). Of the 40 people, 12 are Taiwanese, while the others are Chinese. Officers seized 33 items allegedly used in carrying out the cybercrimes, such as computers, modems and cellphones, from houses they rented in Puri Anjasmoro, Semarang.

SEMARANG, KOMPAS — Last week’s arrest of 40 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals suspected of cybercrime in Semarang, Central Java, shows that Indonesia has become an operational base of an international crime network. Several arrests have been made since 2015 of cybercriminals that have targeted victims in China and Taiwan.Central Java Police special criminal investigation chief commissioner Sr. Comr. Moh Hendra Suhartiyono said the suspected foreign cybercriminals were arrested in an elite housing complex, a pattern that had been seen in several other cases, including cases in Jakarta, West Java and Bali.

“In Semarang, they aim to stay in luxury residences so they escape monitoring. We will map and tighten surveillance,” Hendra said during a press conference on Monday (4/22/2019) at the Semarang Immigration Detention Center (Rudenim).

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

A press conference on alleged cybercrimes committed by foreigners is held by personnel of the Law and Human Rights Ministry from the Central Java Regional Office and Central Java Police at the Semarang Immigration Detention Center on Monday (22/4/2019). Of the 40 people, 12 are Taiwanese, while the others are Chinese. Officers seized 33 items allegedly used in carrying out the cybercrimes, such as computers, modems and cellphones, from houses they rented in Puri Anjasmoro, Semarang.

Investigation into the case is continuing, including suspicions that a “coordinator” is running the cybercriminal network.

Indonesia has become a ground of operations for an international network of foreign cybercriminals. The group has rented houses in an elite neighborhood, and so escaped surveillance by security forces.

Earlier on Thursday (4/18) at 3 p.m., the Semarang Class I Immigration Office arrested 40 foreigners, 28 from China and 12 from Taiwan, at the Puri Anjasmoro housing complex in Semarang. Immigration officials confiscated 33 items thought to have been used in cybercrime activities, including computers, modems and cell phones.

The group allegedly pretended to be law enforcers and targeted Chinese and Taiwanese national. “The perpetrators told the victim that he or she was involved in a crime. They then told the victim to contact a particular number that [they claimed] connected to the police and the courts. In fact, [the number connected to] other members of the group,” said Hendra.

The perpetrators then offered to help the victim settle the case in exchange for money that the victim was instructed to send to a specific bank account in China or Taiwan.

Central Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Triatmaja added that the case was a lesson for police to increase monitoring and surveillance, especially on foreigners in elite housing complexes.

“Elite housing complexes are used to camouflage [cybercriminal activities], or as a front,” he said.

Central Java Immigration Office head Ramli said that 11 of the 12 arrested Taiwanese nations had passports with visa-free stamps, while the twelfth individual could not present a passport, claiming it had been lost.

The 11 Taiwanese passport holders departed in three groups from Japan for Indonesia in July 2018. “They were provided with passports and tickets during their stay in Indonesia by a Taiwanese national. They carried out similar [cybercriminal] activities earlier in Japan. These 12 individuals were wanted in Taiwan,” said Ramli, adding that the Taiwanese nationals were now being held at the Semarang immigration detention center.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Forty illegal foreign nationals suspected of committing cybercrimes walk in front of the Semarang Immigration Detention Center, Central Java, Monday (22/4/2019). Of the 40 people, 12 are Taiwanese, while the others are Chinese. Officers seized 33 items allegedly used in carrying out the cybercrimes, such as computers, modems and cellphones, from houses they rented in Puri Anjasmoro, Semarang

The Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) Police Attaché in Jakarta, Chunmin Kang, said the Taiwanese fugitives had been sought since August 2018. “We received information that they had fled to Indonesia. We have been tracking them down until we finally received information from the Semarang Immigration Office. We will deport them to Taiwan, pending a decision,” he said. (DIT)