Shopping Scams Cost Indonesia $666.6 Million in 2025
- ByStartupStory | December 1, 2025
Indonesia is grappling with a significant surge in digital scams, with shopping-related fraud alone accounting for losses totaling $666.6 million in 2025, according to data from the Global Anti Scam Alliance (GASA) Indonesia Chapter and Mastercard. This alarming figure represents a substantial threat to the country’s burgeoning digital economy, undermining consumer confidence and financial security.
The “State of Scams in Indonesia 2025” report highlights that 66% of Indonesian adults encountered a scam in the past year, averaging 55 scam encounters per person annually. Approximately one-third (35%) fell victim to scams, with 14% losing money directly to fraudulent schemes. Online shopping fraud emerges as the most common scam, exploiting the rapid growth of e-commerce and increasing digital transactions across the archipelago.
Scammers often leverage popular communication platforms such as instant messaging and SMS to trick consumers into fake transactions. The report emphasizes the vulnerability of Indonesia’s leading digital adopters—Millennials and Gen Z—which drive much of the country’s internet usage and mobile payments. Despite government initiatives, around 50 million Indonesians remain digitally excluded or inadequately protected.
The economic impact extends beyond direct monetary loss. Digital scams erode trust among consumers and merchants, potentially slowing wider adoption of innovative financial technologies and digital services. Mastercard and GASA stress that rebuilding confidence will require concerted efforts across public agencies, private companies, and civil society to implement robust anti-fraud technologies, national helplines, and effective victim support systems.
Recommendations from the report urge ongoing consumer education on scam identification and prevention, enhanced network-level fraud detection to block malicious actors before they reach users, and stronger regulatory frameworks enforcing service-provider accountability. International collaboration is also deemed essential to trace and prosecute cross-border scams exploiting jurisdictional gaps.
Indonesian regulators and industry stakeholders are responding with programs like Investment Scams Alerts and Priority Flagger systems that harness AI for real-time fraud detection, helping protect millions of users daily. Yet, experts caution that technology alone is insufficient. A cultural shift emphasizing vigilance and shared responsibility is critical to curbing the epidemic of scams.
As Indonesia accelerates towards a cash-lite digital economy with massive mobile payment adoption and e-commerce growth, fighting fraudulent shopping scams is imperative to ensure meaningful and sustainable financial inclusion. The $666.6 million cost represents a call to action for integrated, multi-stakeholder solutions safeguarding Indonesia’s digital future while empowering consumers to transact safely with confidence.
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