Jakarta (ANTARA) - People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo suggested that the National Police (Polri) establish a post to facilitate reporting of freelance job scams, where victims are enticed through messaging applications.

He emphasized that the post could be used to gather information about these scams from the community.

"In this way, the authorities can respond promptly and follow up on incoming reports, conducting investigations and studying the cases, in order to expose and prosecute the perpetrators and scam networks," he stated on Tuesday.

Soesatyo highlighted the importance of the police taking swift action before more victims fall prey to scammers.

He urged the police to promptly act on scam cases, starting with investigating the reports and blocking the phone numbers used by scammers to deceive people through the WhatsApp messaging application.

The MPR speaker appealed to the public to remain vigilant, especially when receiving job offers through social media or messaging applications.

In recent weeks, several Indonesians have shared their experiences on social media of being contacted for freelance jobs by unknown individuals via WhatsApp.

The tasks offered include watching YouTube videos or subscribing to specific accounts. The targets are promised payment via bank transfer upon completion within a specified timeframe.

However, in reality, the victims are given additional tasks that require them to transfer a certain amount of money as a deposit. Some victims, deceived by the promised earnings, become trapped and send money to the perpetrators.

Last May, a 30-year-old employee of the Jakarta Provincial Government's Infrastructure and Public Facilities Management (PPSU) fell victim to the scam and reported the incident to the Jakarta Police.

The victim suffered a loss amounting to Rp28 million (approximately US$1,868).

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Translator: Genta Tenri, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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