Indonesian police arrest man for allegedly using QR codes to steal charity donations
A congregant shows the fake QR code sticker that was pasted on a charity box by the suspect at the Nurul Iman Mosque in Jakarta on Apr 11, 2023. (Photo: Antara Foto/Aditya Pradana Putra)
JAKARTA: The Indonesian police on Tuesday (Apr 11) arrested a 38-year-old man who allegedly stole charity donations by placing fake QR stickers in public places which directed the donations to his account.
According to The Jakarta Globe, the suspect had committed the crime at 38 locations such as mosques, fuel stations and malls since Apr 1.
“So far we have uncovered three accounts belonging (to the suspect),” Chief Commissioner Auliansyah Lubis, the director of Jakarta police’s special crimes division was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Globe.
He added that an initial investigation showed that the suspect has collected at least 13 million rupiah (US$874) by redirecting the financial donations to his accounts.
Investigations are still underway to identify whether the man is part of a criminal organisation or whether others were involved in making the QR codes and digital payment accounts, said Mr Auliansyah, according to The Jakarta Globe.
According to Antara, the case first came to light last Sunday when a mosque manager lodged a police report after noticing the suspicious QR codes at the Nurul Iman Mosque in Blok M Square, a mall in South Jakarta.
"The informer is the mosque manager who found a QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) sticker at a pillar at the mosque's entry.
“After seeing the sticker, the informer asked a mosque cleaner who made the QRIS sticker, but the (mosque cleaner) said he did not know," said Mr Auliansyah on Tuesday, according to Antara.
The QRIS is a standardised QR Code for payments approved by Bank Indonesia which works across various e-wallets and banking apps.
The mosque manager and the cleaner inspected the entire mosque premises and found 24 more false QRIS stickers, according to Antara.
"Afterward, the informer observed the CCTV, which showed (the suspect) pasting the false QRIS stickers," said Mr Auliansyah.
He added that the fake QR stickers were pasted over the mosque's legitimate QR stickers, beside the existing QR stickers, or placed on an empty wall.
He also said that the 38-year-old man is suspected of violating Article 28 Paragraph 1 of Law No. 19 of 2018 on Electronic Information and Transactions, which carries a six-year prison sentence or a maximum fine of 1 billion rupiah.
According to Antara, the suspect was caught on security camera applying QR code stickers with the writing “Mosque Restoration” on donation boxes and on the mosque walls last Thursday.
Bank Indonesia has since blocked the “Mosque Restoration” QR code, according to Liputan6.
"The public is also urged not to make transactions if they find irregularities or information that does not match the profile of the merchant that receives payment or transaction information that does not match the purpose of payment," Erwin Haryono, Bank Indonesia’s Executive Director of the Communication Department, reportedly said on the bank’s website on Tuesday.
