Romance Scams on the Rise on Social Media

Infographics of fraudsters disguised as love in cyberspace.

Love or romance scams on social media and dating apps are getting more worrisome. Even though such scams have become a topic of discussion of netizens, new cases continue to increase and claim more victims.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Romance scams on dating apps and social media are on the rise in Indonesia. Kompas' investigation into one alleged fraudster, who had recently gone viral on social media, revealed that at least 91 victims had experienced financial and sexual exploitation due to romance scams. Victims suffered a lasting impact such as such as economic difficulties and emotional disturbances.

The activities of suspected fraudsters and victims were investigated during the period of March-April in the provinces of Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Special Region of Yogyakarta and South Sulawesi. The suspects included Faris Ahmad Faza (31), Muhammad Iqbal Pangestu (29), Leonardus Wahyu Dewala (32) and Emirati Moniharapon (29).

There were at least 74 women who claimed to have experienced sexual exploitation, both verbally and physically.

Of the four suspected romance scammers, three (with the exception of Leonardus Dewala) have been reported to the police. Meanwhile, a total of 17 victims of the three alleged fraudsters suffered losses of more than Rp 1 billion (US$70,000). There were at least 74 women who claimed to have experienced sexual exploitation, both verbally and physically.

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Faris Ahmad Faza was accused of taking Rp 350 million from nine victims in East Java and Central Java. The victims were mostly women aged 25-33 years who had been involved in fake love relations for up to 12 months (2021-2022).

Four of Faza’s nine victims have reported him to the police in their respective regions on suspicion of fraud. A loving relationship was only a sweet but illusive seduction to initiate the scam. After that, Faza exploited the victims continuously. "He was possessive. He forbade me from being close to other people," said Cb (33), a financial analyst at a bank in Purwokerto, Central Java, who lost Rp 60 million during her relationship with Faza.

IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

Victims of fraudsters under the guise of love check goods with perpetrator Faris Ahmad Faza (31) in Kediri City, East Java, Saturday (4/4/2022).

In Purwokerto, Faza also deceived a doctor with the initial IT. Faza introduced himself as Areza on the Tinder application. After meeting on Tinder, IT and Faza communicated via Whatsapp. Faza told IT that his business was collapsing and he needed funds to save it. Faza asked IT to download an online loan application. IT was deceived and lost about Rp 80 million because of Faza's crime.

Mohammad Iqbal Pangestu was reported by two of his four victims. Iqbal carried out his scamming activities quickly. After approaching his victims, he immediately exploited them and left them behind in less than two weeks. His victims were, among others, Wt (25), a female employee at a state-owned company (BUMN ) in Semarang, Central Java, and Am (26), an employee at a private company in Jakarta. Iqbal deceived Wt through the Line app, and Am through the Bigo app. "My ATM card and gold were also taken," said Wt, who lost Rp 40 million during her two-week relationship with Iqbal.

Long distance relationship

Other suspects who had been reported to the police also included Emirat Moniharapon. He was reported for allegedly cheating a jewelry trader Rk (43). Emirat deceived the mother by fabricating the illusion of love. Rk, who lost about Rp 180 million, said she was initially attracted to Emirat because of his appearance as a religious man. Incidentally, Rk was obsessed with a man with such a character. Because of this, she fell in love with Emirat.

KOMPAS/IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

Three victims of fraudsters disguised as love Faris Ahmad Faza (31), namely Tr (31), Li (25) and Il (28), reported together to the Kediri City Police, East Java, Sunday (20/3/2022).

As the love affair continued, Emirat asked Rk to send him money for various purposes. As his requests became increasingly frequent and unreasonable, Rk became suspicious. Emirat then disappeared suddenly. Rk later found Emirat’s three other victims. "They experienced exactly the same as what I experienced," she said, in Jakarta on Thursday (17/3/2022).

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Emirat is suspected of being linked to a fictitious figure by the name of Iqbal. Iqbal's profile on Facebook used Emirat’s photograph. Iqbal previously had a fake romance with Rk in the social media. Almost every day, the two communicated like lovers. Rk even complied with Iqbal's request to buy a new car for a man she had never met in person. Their relationship ended after Rk found out Iqbal was using Emirat’s photograph. Rk had transferred money worth Rp 350 million to Iqbal’s bank account.

KOMPAS/DHANANG DAVID

Rk (43), a woman from Bekasi, told the chronology of being deceived by Emirati Moniharapon in Jakarta, Thursday (17/3/2022).

Kompas tracked the presence of Emirat in Makassar, South Sulawesi. He was then willing to meet at a place of his choice, on the same day Kompas contacted him. He did not deny receiving money and goods from Rk. However, he denied using force to procure them. He also said that he did not know the owner of a Facebook account named Iqbal who used his photo and deceived her. Emirat’s photos looked handsome. His body was sturdy and his skin light. Rk felt she was cheated and reported Emirat to the Jakarta Police.

Leonardus Wahyu Dewala was accused of sexually exploiting 74 women. Dewala was charged of manipulating personal data to attract a partner. Dewala was active on several dating apps such as Bumble, Tinder and OKCupid throughout 2018-2020. He lied to his victims, saying that he was a graduate of a university in Switzerland.

Kompas’ team tracked down Dewala at his boarding house in South Jakarta, but he no longer lived there. The team then managed to meet Dewala at his home in Magelang, Central Java, on Tuesday (22/3). He denied all of the victim's accusations. Dewala admitted that he had never studied in Switzerland; to the contrary, he had dropped out from a private university in Yogyakarta. "I told the people, I actually dropped out; they didn't even believe it," he said.

KOMPAS/IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM (IR

Leonardus Dewala (32) stated that he did not accept being called a dating app predator at his home in Magelang Regency, Central Java, Monday (21/3/2022).

Regarding the allegations of sexual exploitation of his victims by recording and asking for personal photos, Dewala said this was done when they were dating. According to Dewala, those who claimed to be his victims had actually given permission.

The admin of the Instagram account @aliskamugemash said more than 100 people had sent reports related to Dewala. The Instagram account @aliskamugemash contained testimonies of the victims of romance scams allegedly carried out by Dewala. From all the reports sent to the Instagram account, only 74 people have been verified.

Dewala refused to be called a dating app predator. He stated that he only had physical relationships with 21 people between 2018-2020.

However, Sf (27), a woman from Yogyakarta, felt that Dewala had exploited her after the man asked her to send her half-naked photos. “I sent him the photos after he convinced me. After sending the photos, he said, 'Well, then, I love you even more,'” said Sf. She said she is now afraid her photos will be circulated on social media.

Not all victims were willing to unveil their experiences. To be able to communicate with the victims, the Kompas team had to go through an intermediary, be it friends, relatives, companions or other fellow victims. The search for one victim led to the finding of other victims.

IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

Emirati Moniharapon (29) who has been reported to the Jakarta Metro Police for alleged fraud under the guise of love in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Tuesday (5/4/2022).

According to the Public Relations of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), Natsir Kongah, cases of romance scams on social media and dating applications have become increasingly prevalent during the pandemic. Natsir described the fraud as being dangerous, as the fraudsters did not only target victims in the country, but also abroad. PPATK estimated such romance scams had caused a financial loss of about Rp 8.13 billion during the 2020-2021 period. (DVD/FAI/IRE/NDY)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)