JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—As more transactions move to digital channels, the growing epidemic of online fraud in Indonesia is forcing businesses and institutions to improve identity verification. They must also employ certified electronic signatures.

Since its launch in November 2024, the Indonesia Anti-Scam Center (IASC) has received more than 608,000 reports of scams through June 2026. As of May 2026, officials have projected the victims’ damages to be Rp9.3 trillion.

Financial Services Authority (OJK) data show that IASC identified well over one million reported accounts and blocked 557,751 of them. Authorities secured approximately Rp674.1 billion and had returned nearly Rp200 billion to victims by July.

IASC operates under the OJK-led Illegal Financial Activities Eradication Task Force (Satgas PASTI). It connects victims’ reports with banks, payment providers and other financial institutions to trace funds and suspend suspicious transactions.

The growing threat has increased demand for digital trust services, including identity authentication, document verification and certified electronic signatures.

Privy reported that activity on its electronic-signature platform increased by 200 percent during the first half of 2026. This figure was compared with the same period in 2025.

The Privy also said 60,000 new businesses and institutions began using its services during the six-month period. These figures come from Privy and have not been independently audited.

“The increase in digital fraud cases reminds us that digital transformation cannot focus solely on process efficiency. It must also ensure identity security and the validity of every transaction in the digital space,” Privy Chief Business Officer Brata Rafly said in an interview on Tuesday, August 11.

“As more processes take place without face-to-face interaction, the ability to verify the identities of transacting parties and the validity of documents becomes increasingly important for businesses and the public,” he added.

Brata said digital trust now extends beyond verifying an individual signer. Companies must also confirm a document’s authenticity and determine whether the signer has legal authority to represent an organization.

“To address these needs, Privy continues to expand its layers of digital trust through services such as Document Verification. This service allows people to independently verify the authenticity of electronic signatures on digital documents quickly,” Brata said.

“Throughout 2026, this service has verified tens of millions of documents. Privy also provides an Enterprise Affiliate Certificate. This helps ensure that a person signing a document has not only passed identity verification but also holds a legitimate affiliation. Additionally, it confirms their authority to act on behalf of the organization represented,” he added.

Indonesia’s health and education sectors increasingly rely on such verification systems. Hospitals need secure authentication for patient identities, medical consent, electronic health records and BPJS health claims.

Universities also need reliable methods to validate diplomas, certificates and online administrative documents.

Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions Law recognizes electronic signatures as legally valid when they meet requirements for signer identification, consent and document integrity.

A 2022 Communication and Informatics Ministry regulation also defines electronic signatures as tools for authenticating a signer’s identity and verifying the integrity of electronic information.

“Digital trust is ultimately not only about accelerating processes such as signing and verification or reducing paper use,” Brata said.

“It is about ensuring that every digital activity—including invoices, cooperation agreements, purchase orders and other documents—has a clear identity, valid approval and evidence that can be verified at any time,” he added.

The urgency will grow with Indonesia’s digital economy. The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company estimated that the country’s digital gross merchandise value approached US$100 billion in 2025, up 14 percent year-on-year. Mid-range projections place it near US$180 billion by 2030.

“We believe the future of Indonesia’s digital economy depends heavily on public trust in digital identities and transactions,” Brata said.

“Our vision is not merely to provide electronic signatures but to become a foundation for a digital trust ecosystem. This ecosystem will enable individuals, businesses and institutions to interact safely, legally and reliably,” he remarked.