"Don't easily believe strangers being nice to us," the ministry's assistant deputy for the protection of women's rights in households and vulnerable women, Eni Widiyanti, said at a media gathering entitled "Prevent Women from Being Entangled in Love Scamming," here on Friday.
She asked people to always make sure that the identities of everyone they engage with in digital space are valid.
"Please cross-check their identities," she said.
The public should be wary of strangers asking for their usernames and the passwords of owned accounts, she added.
"Accounts (on social media) tend to be linked to each other, so they can access anything. Let's be careful, do not share username and password," she cautioned.
She added that people should believe their instincts.
"Instincts are important. Especially, if our instinct says this is too good to be true. There is no way a rich, handsome man suddenly says they want to marry you, especially beautiful promises," she said.
According to her, low digital literacy makes women more vulnerable to love scams.
"Digital literacy must be accompanied by awareness of the risks in the digital space," she said.
Perpetrators of love scams in the digital space lure victims with promises of love and marriage in order to get money from them.
If love scammers get what they want, they tend to ghost their victims.
Earlier, on Tuesday (August 29, 2023), Riau Islands Regional Police, in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, cracked down on love scammers at Cammo Industrial Park, Batam City, Riau Islands.
As part of the crackdown, 88 Chinese nationals, 83 men and five women, were arrested.
Related news: Some 37 Indonesians employed as online scammers repatriated from Laos
Translator: Anita D, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
