Indonesia Calls for Cross-Border Coordination to Combat Online Scams

RRI.CO.ID, Phnom Penh – Indonesia has called for stronger cross-border coordination mechanisms to accelerate information sharing and response efforts in combating online scams and online gambling. Vice Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno, conveyed the proposal at the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS), themed “Acting Together towards Breaking the Chain and Eradication of Online Scams,” in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on September 23–24, 2026.

The conference produced the Phnom Penh Declaration on Combating Online Scams, strengthening the commitment of 28 countries and seven international organizations to enhance international cooperation, law enforcement, information exchange, asset tracing and recovery, and victim protection.

Havas explained that the coordination mechanism proposed by Indonesia would not involve establishing a new institution or secretariat, but rather connecting existing mechanisms at the national, regional, and global levels.

“We are not fighting individuals. We are fighting a network. And a network can only be defeated by a faster network,” Havas said, according to a statement from the Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

According to him, the mechanism is needed to accelerate information exchange, law enforcement coordination, and the handling of cross-border cases. This is important as online scams and online gambling involve various actors and jurisdictions, ranging from recruiters, operators, and technology providers to money mules and money laundering perpetrators.

“Criminals move within minutes. Therefore, our coordination must also be able to match their speed,” he said.

At the conference, Indonesia also introduced the PASTI Task Force, the Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre (IASC), and Frontier+ as examples of national efforts to strengthen coordination and combat online scams. Cambodia expressed interest in learning from Indonesia’s experience with Frontier+, while Türkiye expressed interest in studying the PASTI Task Force and IASC directly in Indonesia.

Indonesia also expressed its readiness to strengthen cooperation with Cambodia, ASEAN, UNODC, INTERPOL, and participating countries to establish connectivity among existing mechanisms.

On the sidelines of the conference, Havas met with Cambodian Interior Minister Sar Sokha on September 23, 2026. During the meeting, Havas reaffirmed Indonesia’s support for Cambodia’s efforts to combat online scams and online gambling, including through closer coordination in handling Indonesian citizens affected by the crackdown on such crimes.