Cybercrimes Can Prey on Next-Door Neighbors
Cybercrimes are not new. As information technology advances, cybercrime threats have now become worldwide.
CNN International (14/3/2023) ran the Cambodian Interior Ministry’s statement regarding cybercrime in the country preying on professionals throughout Asia.
The CNN report reminds us of Kompas’ report on 5 August, 2022, about 172 Indonesian migrant workers who were forced to serve as operators of online scams and fraudulent investments in Cambodia. The workers had been lured in by information about job vacancies with tempting salaries. They later found themselves in a crime network with them having to work from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. While their documentation was kept by the employers. They were prohibited from going out and were required to reach certain targets.
Through a high level of diplomatic efforts, they were finally be saved. Further investigation revealed they had fallen victim to human trafficking.
Such cybercrimes are not new. In May 2015, the National Police arrested dozens of foreign nationals from China and Taiwan. Operating their fraudulent actions from rented houses in several places in Pondok Indah, Pantai Indah Kapuk and Cilandak, they targeted fellow nationals.
What they committed was categorized as cybercrime, namely a crime that uses internet, or the internet system itself may be the target of attack. As information technology advances, cybercrime threats have now become worldwide.
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Well-known cyber security consultant and company Cybersecurity Venture estimates that financial losses due to cybercrime globally amounted to US$190,000 US every second or $11.4 million per minute as of the end of 2022.
The 2022 Interpol Global Crime Trend Report (IGCTR) says that cybercrimes consisting of ransomware, phishing, online scams and computer intrusion in its all 190 member countries were categorized as being “high or very high” level of threats.
In Indonesia, National Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) recently reported a 1,400 percent increase in cybercrimes throughout Indonesia, from 612 cases in 2021 to 8,831 cases in 2022.
Being deprived of a job or failing in business amid the pressing demand for income, one may lose rationality in the search for income. The incessant information on job vacancies on social media appears too appealing for job seekers to come to terms with logic. The recently uncovered cybercrime shows that their work venture brought them to a country that is not among the destinations for Indonesian migrant workers. Cambodia’s economy is not better than Indonesia's.
On the other hand, with large-scale cybercrime requiring large financial resources, there must be a syndicate behind the operational cyber network. They scout extensively to find people to join them to operate their cash machine. Chinese are employed to deceive fellow Chinese, Indonesians are being recruited to prey on fellow Indonesians and so on.
The hundreds of victims rescued from human trafficking in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, were only a small number of the tens of thousands still unaccounted for. It’s an iceberg phenomenon, with around 1,000 Indonesians currently believed to be working for online scams in Cambodia, and more continuing to arrive. The employment areas have expanded to other countries, such as Myanmar and Laos, via Thailand.
Prevention, prosecution, protection
The Cambodian cybercrime was carried out in two modes: the dissemination of false information in finding workers and the perpetration of online scams.
Cybercrime, which in the Cambodian case was mentioned as “targeting professionals across Asia”, certainly occurs not only in the Asian region. Under pressure to fulfil the target, an Indonesian operator will take aim at fellow Indonesians anywhere, including next-door neighbors or others looking for livelihoods abroad as migrant workers.
Given how the syndicate network is operated and the impacts it causes, every country must have a commitment to tackling cybercrime. The generic steps that must be taken are prevention, prosecution of perpetrators, protection of victims and intercountry cooperation.
As part of preventive measures, there must be an effort to raise public awareness about cybercrime among people seeking to become migrant workers. In Singapore, banners or signboards with messages of cybercrime vigilance can be spotted in many areas.
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In Indonesia, messages for vigilance, though not specifically against human trafficking, are found in villages in Subang and Purwakarta regencies. There, the banners carry a warning that urge people to be cautious about the temptation of online loans.
Carrying messages for vigilance over two different crimes, both are the same in that they are part of preventive efforts. Allowing for those with low literacy levels, public awareness campaigns must be pursued through various platforms so that people are more aware and knowledgeable about the dangers of disinformation. They are expected to become more prepared and procedural when planning to work abroad.
Bringing crime perpetrators to justice can have a deterrent effect. In the case of false information, promises to prospective victims are usually imparted in a language that is understood and carried out by someone they may know well. This provides the police with a tough challenge to find the perpetrators and punish them.
Malaysia has the Anti Fake News Act, which has been in force since 2018. Those who make up and spread false news may be fined up to 500,000 ringgit or imprisoned up to six years, or both. Singapore implemented the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) in 2019. People found to have made up and disseminated false information face a fine of up to S$50,000 or imprisonment of up to five years. If the crime is committed by a corporation or media outlet, the fine is up to S$500,000. If the crime is committed online, the fines and penalties are doubled.
Indonesia imposed Law No. 11/2008 before revising it with Law No. 19/2016 on Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE), which regulates procedures for the use of electronic information and transactions as well as sanctions for offenders. If proven to have provided incorrect information and infringed on procedures in sending Indonesian migrant workers abroad, a perpetrator is liable to charges under Law No. 21/2007 concerning human trafficking crime.
The state has the responsibility to protect the victims. Case status should be the result of thorough investigation, which will also prompt proportional protection and provision of assistance for the victims. In some cases, the police had someone who claimed to be a victim of human trafficking but who turned out to be the perpetrator.
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Protection for Indonesian citizens abroad should be proportional within the regulated corridors: prioritizing the role of the authorized party, not shifting civil or criminal obligations and responsibilities, respect for law of the land in addition to international law and bilateral agreements (if any).
It is impossible for an authorized institution to deal with interstate cybercrime cases on its own. It needs collaboration. The arrest and deportation of Chinese and Taiwanese nationals for their involvement in cybercrime in Jakarta were carried out in cooperation with other parties. Likewise, Indonesia’s rescue of hundreds of human trafficking victims from Cambodia was the fruit of high-level government cooperation and diplomacy.
Bilateral inter-police cooperation is one of the most common schemes, but it depends on the countries’ legal system and law enforcement. The better the legal system and law enforcement in our country and partner countries, the smoother and more likely the bilateral inter-police cooperation will work. On the other hand, an unsupportive legal system and law enforcement situation or instability in sociopolitical conditions will make the cooperation prone to crash.
Law enforcement commitment
Cooperation can also be through regional and international schemes. ASEANAPOL, which is a forum for inter-police cooperation in ASEAN, can be optimized to deal with cybercrimes in the region. Globally, there is Interpol, which has networks in 190 member countries. The United Nations also has the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), known as the Palermo Convention, drawn up in 2000, as a reference for each country and cooperation between countries.
National legal instruments and regional and international cooperation frameworks are already in place. All that remains is commitment to law enforcement, which will ultimately determine the success in overcoming international cybercrimes.
Didik Eko Pujianto
Didik Eko Pujianto, Secretary of the Directorate General of Protocol and Consular Affairs, Foreign Ministry
This article was translated by Musthofid.
