Indonesia pushes cooperation to outpace global scam networks

October 2, 2026

JAKARTA – Indonesia has called for stronger transboundary coordination among countries to combat the illegal online scam industry, as the country declares readiness to work with institutions like the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)

The call during the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS) that took place in Phnom Penh from Sept. 23 to 24, when representatives from 28 countries, including ASEAN member states, gathered to discuss ways to disrupt transnational scam networks

At the gathering, Indonesia emphasized the need for a specialized mechanism to enable better information exchange between countries, pursue asset recovery and protect victims. The country argued that increasingly sophisticated and interconnected scam networks require an even stronger coordinated international response

The Indonesian delegation also flagged concerns that the illegal industry has increasingly evolved into complex forms of organized crime, involving recruiters, operators, technology providers, as well as money mules and launderers operating across multiple countries

Closer coordination must therefore be conducted between national authorities, ASEAN, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), Interpol and the larger international community

“We’re not fighting individuals. We’re fighting a network, and a network can only be beaten by a faster network,” Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno said at the conference, as quoted by a statement from the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday

At a separate session focused on treating the online scam industry as a global emergency, Havas emphasized the need for mechanisms that can facilitate timely responses

He argued that as criminals “move in a matter of minutes”, international coordination “must be able to match their speed”

International efforts to combat the fast-growing online scam industry, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, have struggled in recent years to keep pace with the speed at which illegal networks have expanded and evolved

The scam industry, including “pig butchering” schemes, first flourished in Cambodia. It initially relied on human trafficking for recruitment before expanding to attract voluntary workers as the industry grew more lucrative

A recent UNODC threat assessment estimated the networks across the wider Asia-Pacific region generated between US$80 billion and $110 billion in 2025 alone

Similar operations have been detected beyond Southeast Asia, with scam centers emerging in parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America

The conference in Phnom Penh came as countries around the world sought to adapt their responses to the evolving illegal industry, particularly as Cambodia’s sweeping crackdown on scam centers earlier this year pushed criminal networks to relocate to smaller, harder-to-detect operations

Among attendees of the conference were delegations of ASEAN member states, Australia, China, India and the United States

At the meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country would never be a “safe haven” for cyberscams, asserting the country’s authorities had “completely dismantled all light-scale scam compounds” at last year’s crackdown, as quoted by AFP

Cambodia held the conference as it faced pressure from China and the US after years of accusations that it allowed scam centers to thrive

While representatives lauded Cambodia for holding the conference and showing its commitment against scams through crackdowns, they admitted more efforts were still needed in the national, regional and international levels

The meeting produced the Phnom Penh Declaration, which set out a string of commitments to strengthen international cooperation including through intelligence sharing, financial investigations, cross-border law enforcement and the tracing and recovery of criminal proceeds

Source: asianews.network