Case indonesia-prabowo-deepfake-aid-scamDeepfake fraudIndonesia
Indonesian police arrest two over deepfake videos of President Prabowo promising cash aid
Indonesian police arrested suspects AMA and JS for spreading AI videos of President Prabowo, VP Gibran and Minister Sri Mulyani offering aid for admin fees; about Rp 95 million (about $5,800) taken from 100-plus victims.
MediumAttack using AIStatus: ResolvedVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Jan 24, 2025
- Location
- Indonesia
- Target
- Indonesian social media users across 20 provinces
- Severity
- Medium
- Triggered by
- AMA (29) and JS (25), Indonesian nationals
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Reported loss
- $5.8K
- CVE
- None
What happened
Indonesian police arrested suspects AMA and JS for spreading AI videos of President Prabowo, VP Gibran and Minister Sri Mulyani offering aid for admin fees; about Rp 95 million (about $5,800) taken from 100-plus victims.
Impact: Over 100 victims defrauded of roughly Rp 95 million in total; AFP fact-checkers found similar videos still circulating after the arrests
Who triggered it
Actor: AMA (29) and JS (25), Indonesian nationals
Attribution: Arrested and charged by the Cyber Crime Directorate of Indonesia's National Police Criminal Investigation Agency; case files handed to prosecutors in April 2025
Motive: Financial gain by collecting fake administrative fees from aid seekers
How it happened
Attack vector: Deepfake videos of state officials posted on TikTok and Instagram with a WhatsApp number; victims told to pay administrative fees to receive non-existent government funds
Root cause: Free generative video tools and reuse of official footage; victims trusted apparent presidential announcements on social media
Timeline
- Suspect AMA arrested in Central Lampung; 11 victims over four months, about Rp 30 million taken
- Second suspect JS arrested; police say about 100 victims in 20 provinces and Rp 65 million in profit
- Bareskrim hands both case files to prosecutors; separate arrests over a deepfake of East Java governor Khofifah
Response
Arrests under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and Criminal Code; cases referred to prosecution; public warnings issued
Current status: Resolved
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Indonesian National Police inp.polri.go.id
- Indonesian National Police (second arrest) inp.polri.go.id
- OECD.AI Incidents Monitor oecd.ai
Cite this case
Indonesian police arrest two over deepfake videos of President Prabowo promising cash aid. AI Threat Watch, case indonesia-prabowo-deepfake-aid-scam, Jan 24, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/indonesia-prabowo-deepfake-aid-scam/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/indonesia-prabowo-deepfake-aid-scam/