Scammers in Indonesia use fake videos of President to steal money
Scammers in Indonesia are using fake videos of President Prabowo Subianto to trick people into sending them money.
The president was seen in an Instagram video wearing a black hat and shirt, speaking to the public.
He appeared to ask, "Who hasn't received aid from me? What are your needs right now?" His lips moved, and his eyes blinked naturally, making the video seem real. But police later revealed it was a deepfake—a fake video created using artificial intelligence.
People who believed the message were told to contact a WhatsApp number and pay an "administrative fee" of between 250,000 and one million rupiah ($15-$60) to receive government aid. But the aid never came.
Authorities say the scam spread across 20 provinces.
The police arrested a suspect who made 65 million rupiah ($4,000) from the scheme, while another person was also arrested for a similar fraud although police did not reveal how much money was stolen.
Fake videos of high-profile figures, including Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, have also appeared online.
These scams are widely shared on TikTok and other platforms. One account with 77,000 followers gained 7.5 million views on a fake video of Prabowo giving out money. Another account has posted more than 100 deepfake videos since January.
TikTok removed at least one of these scam videos and said it would continue to take down misleading content.
However, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has not made any comments.
Fact-checkers in Indonesia say deepfake scams are increasing.
"We are finding new fake videos every week because AI tools have become cheaper and easier to use," Aribowo Sasmito, co-founder of fact-checking group Mafindo was quoted by local news sources.
Scams like this are not only happening in Indonesia. Fake videos of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have also been used in similar fraud schemes.
Aribowo warned that fake videos are becoming more realistic. "It is getting harder to tell what is real and what is fake," he said. "The challenge is that these scams are everywhere."
Authorities have urged people to be careful and not trust videos of public figures promising financial aid, as many of them may be scams.
