Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has again reminded the public not to get involved in the practice of buying and selling bank accounts. This practice has been proven to be a primary route for facilitating online gambling and other fraudulent activities.
The Deputy for Analysis and Examination of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), Danang Tri Hartono, emphasized that the continuity of online gambling activities is highly dependent on the financial transaction system.
“Most of the accounts used come from account buying and selling practices, hacking, and even legitimately registered merchants who misuse them for online gambling deposits,” said Danang after attending a case presentation at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency.
According to him, the syndicate often recruits people with a Rp 500,000 reward to open a new account. Afterward, the perpetrators immediately take possession of the passbook and ATM card from the rightful owner.
Even more worrying, a new method has emerged that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to open digital bank accounts using other people’s identities.
“This has been detected by the bank, and it has been proven to be successful,” explained Danang.
Besides being used to store online gambling funds, accounts from buying and selling are also often used as a means of other crimes, such as online fraud. The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) believes this practice not only harms the public but also weakens the national financial system. Therefore, Danang emphasized the importance of public vigilance.
“Public awareness is crucial. Accounts are private data and should not be transferred,” he stressed.
Efforts to eradicate online gambling are being strengthened by the Cyber Crime Directorate (Dittipidsiber) of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri). The National Police recently announced a major seizure of online gambling-related accounts. A total of 576 accounts were frozen for Rp 63.7 billion, while another 235 accounts were seized for Rp 90.6 billion. The total funds seized reached Rp 154.3 billion.
Head of Sub-Directorate 2 Cyber Crime Directorate of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police, Senior Commissioner Ferdy Saragih, emphasized that this step was a follow-up to the PPATK report.
“We are following up on the PPATK’s LHA through an investigative mechanism in accordance with Supreme Court Regulation Number 1 of 2013. We strongly suspect that the funds originated from online gambling activities,” Ferdy emphasized.
The government, through the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri), hopes the public will not fall prey to account buying and selling practices or be tempted to participate in online gambling. Public participation is essential to maintaining the security of the national financial system and preventing social and economic losses from online gambling.
