Police Reveal Scam Scheme Using Fake Videos of President Prabowo
The scam scheme has been used by the suspect since 2020. One suspect was arrested in Lampung, while the other remains a fugitive.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Police Cybercrime Directorate has arrested a suspect in a to distribute deepfake videos of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. "The content offers government assistance to people in need," Cybercrime Director Brigadier General Himawan Bayu Aji said in a press conference at the Police Criminal Investigation Department on Thursday, January 23, 2025.
The suspect is Almandela, 28, a resident of Central Lampung Regency, Lampung province. In the video, the suspect included a WhatsApp number in the hope that the prospective victims would call the number. There's also instruction to fill out a registration form for assistance and the victims would be asked to transfer some money for administrative costs.
Himawan explained that the required registration fees varied from Rp250,000 to Rp1 million. The suspect shared the fake video on Instagram under the username chandra_cchen (Zhang Jiangwu).
In one of Prabowo's videos, the suspect said, "Please answer honestly, what do you need now? School fees, college fees, business capital, debt repayment, or house renovation. If you need any of the things I mentioned, please contact me immediately, God willing, I will help you on the condition that you don't use it for extravagance." The exact video was taken when Prabowo took the oath of office at the parliament area on October 20, 2024.
Meanwhile, one of the videos featuring Gibran said, "Hello everyone, I am Gibran Rakabuming Raka, I am the Vice President of Indonesia. With the abundance of blessings that have been given to me, today I share my blessings on this new TikTok account. For anyone who happens to find this post, I will send Rp50 million directly if you have followed and pressed the love and arrow signs. This applies to everyone and everywhere. Please send as long as it is used with trust for your family". In the video, the suspect also included a Whatsapp number in the caption.
Himawan asserted that the videos were hoaxes. Not only and Gibran but there is also a video of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani that has been manipulated to deceive victims. The suspect is known to have been running this scam since 2020. He was not alone, as the police are currently pursuing his accomplice, identified as FA, who is now on the run.
Meanwhile, Almandela was arrested at his residence in Lampung on January 16, 2024. The two suspects had different roles: Almandela was responsible for creating captions and adding phone numbers, while FA prepared and edited the videos. This case was initially discovered during cyber patrols conducted by the police cyber team.
For his actions, the suspect has been charged under Article 51(1) in conjunction with Article 35 of Constitution (UU) No. 1 of 2004 on the Second Amendment to UU No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions, as well as Article 378 of the Penal Code.
Editor's Choice:
to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
