Wahyu Dwi Anggoro
IDXChannel - The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh has handled 841 cases of Indonesian citizens In January-February 2025. This record number is more than three times higher than the same period last year.
Most of the cases—around 75 percent—were related to the involvement of Indonesian citizens in online scams. Usually, Indonesian citizens who work as scammers are lured by easy jobs, with low qualifications, but fantastic pay.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Dr Santo Darmosumarto, said that the Indonesian Embassy will continue to coordinate with relevant parties in Cambodia and in the country to follow up on this spike in cases.
At the same time, Indonesian citizens are expected to be more careful and report themselves, so that their presence in Cambodia can be monitored by the Indonesian Embassy.
"In 2020, the Indonesian Embassy only handled 56 cases of Indonesian citizens. However, in 2024 the number increased drastically to 3,310 cases. This means there has been an increase of more than 60 times," Ambassador Santo said in a media release on Monday (24/3/2025).
In the future, it is predicted that this number will continue to increase, along with the increasing number of Indonesian citizens living in Cambodia.
In 2024, the Cambodian Government verified that there were more than 131 thousand Indonesian citizens living in Cambodia legally. The concentration of Indonesian citizens is in the cities of Sihanoukville, Poipet, Chrey Thum, Bavet, and Phnom Penh.
Ambassador Santo, on various occasions, including through social media, appealed to Indonesian citizens to be more vigilant about job offers abroad that do not require skills or qualifications, but promise high salaries.
"If it's too good to be true, IT IS too good to be true. Don't be too gullible," said Ambassador Santo. (Wahyu Dwi Anggoro)
