Jakarta, Jan. 9 -- Indonesia's financial watchdog has warned that online romance scams are emerging as one of the fastest-growing forms of global digital financial crime, citing the recent exposure of an internationally linked syndicate operating in the country.

Friderica Widyasari Dewi, head of market conduct supervision, education and consumer protection at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), said so-called love, relationship or romance scams were increasingly targeting victims across borders.

"The trend is clearly global, and it has also been proven in Indonesia," she told a press conference on the Financial Services Sector Assessment and OJK policy outcomes from the December 2025 monthly board meeting in Jakarta on Friday.

She ...