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AII-1001-82301
ConfirmedA court, a regulator or the organization itself has stated the core facts, or the record cites a court or regulator source.

Deepfake scam in Indonesia impersonates President Prabowo to defraud citizens

Indonesian police discovered a deepfake scam using videos of President Prabowo Subianto that defrauded citizens across 20 provinces. Victims were tricked into paying administrative fees for promised government aid that never materialized.

2 March 2025 Β· Indonesian National Police Β· Fraud, scams and manipulation
2 March 2025

Drafted by Raidu Incident Detection, an automated system.

AII-1001-823012 sources ↓
Quick facts
Category
Fraud, scams and manipulation
Country
Indonesia
Source
France 24
Date
2 March 2025
Drafted by
Raidu Incident Detection

What happened

Police in Indonesia uncovered a fraudulent scam in March 2025 using deepfake videos of President Prabowo Subianto posted on Instagram. The deepfake showed Prabowo in traditional Indonesian dress asking viewers for their needs and promising aid, allegedly posted in November.

Reported impact

The scam defrauded Indonesians across 20 provinces. Victims were directed to contact a WhatsApp number and pay between 250,000 and one million rupiah ($15-$60) as an administrative fee to receive aid that never materialised.

Classification

Category
Fraud, scams and manipulation
Industry
Media, social platforms and marketing
Country
Indonesia
Harm status
Actual harm
Intent
Intentional
Timing
Unknown
Harm types
Economic or property
Harmed
General public, Consumers
Failure modes
Deepfake video, Manipulation or dark pattern
Consequences
Police investigation
AI systems
Deepfake video technology

Sources and evidence

This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.

France 24
Indonesians swindled by scams using President Prabowo deepfakes
2 March 2025
The Manila Times
Indonesians fall victim to Prabowo deepfakes
2 March 2025