Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Communication and Informatics reported on Wednesday that it blocked 3,104 phone numbers in the period from June to November 15 this year.

Based on complaints received on the ministry's aduannomor.id website, those phone numbers were reportedly being used for purposes such as spam, fraud, and voice phishing, among other things.

"We have blocked numbers from complaints in the aduannomor.id website, with a total of 3,104 (numbers) since June 2023," director of control at the ministry's Directorate of Post and Informatics Implementation, Dany Swardany, informed at the ministry's office here on Wednesday.

The aduannomor.id website has been launched by the ministry to record public complaints regarding any unwanted or malicious calls or messages.

To report a certain number and get it blocked, people first need to create an account and then file a complaint along with evidence, such as a screenshot or a recording of the unwanted conversation.

According to Swardany, the 3,104 phone numbers blocked by the ministry were reported for online fraud, online gambling promotions, voice phishing, and spam advertisements.

"There were various reasons for blocking. Some (phone numbers) were (blocked) because of online gambling promotions, some were because of fraud asking for (phone) credit, and some were gift frauds. More or less like that, but what is clear is that the fraud was via text messages and calls," he informed.

The numbers blocked so far mostly bear the (+62) country code issued by Indonesian mobile operators.

In the August–November 2023 period, the number of complaints against phone numbers received by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics reached 958.

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics has urged citizens to file complaints on aduannomor.id in case of fraud via text messages or phone calls in response to several cases of online fraud.

Complaints submitted with evidence on aduannomor.id are guaranteed to be resolved within 24 hours of filing.

Meanwhile, the ministry is taking complaints regarding social media-based fraud on the aduankonten.id website.

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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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