inp.polri.go.id - Surabaya. The East Java Regional Police have uncovered an illegal WhatsApp and Telegram account trading operation, as well as an online gambling promotion service suspected of being linked to a Cambodian gambling network.
"We urge the public to be more careful when providing personal data, especially their National Identification Number (NIK) and Family Card (KK) numbers, and not to misuse them for illegal purposes," said the Head of Public Relations of the East Java Regional Police, Senior Superintendent Jules Abraham Abast, in Surabaya on Friday (10/30/2026).
In uncovering the case, police named a man with the initials DS as a suspect for alleged electronic data manipulation, misuse of personal data, and online gambling promotion.
The Vice Director of Cyber Investigation at the East Java Regional Police, Senior Superintendent Daniel Somanonasa Marunduri, explained that the suspect had been operating two criminal methods since 2023.
The first method involved registering SIM cards using other people's NIK and KK to create WhatsApp and Telegram accounts, which were then traded.
"The suspect registered SIM cards using other people's data, then created WhatsApp and Telegram accounts to sell through the Telegram platform at varying prices," said Daniel.
WhatsApp accounts were sold for IDR 500 to IDR 5,000 per account, while Telegram accounts were priced at IDR 1,000 to IDR 3,000. From this practice, DS earned a profit of around IDR 100 million.
Since November 2025, the suspect also developed an online gambling promotion service using software based on the website sengmanda.com, which he developed himself.
The service was used to distribute gambling advertisements en masse via WhatsApp. Customers simply sent promotional materials and a list of target numbers, and the system automatically sent advertisements to those numbers.
According to the investigation, DS worked directly with the administrator of an online gambling network in Cambodia. The transaction value in this business reached Rp 1 billion.
In uncovering the case, police confiscated a custom-built computer, 13 cell phones, approximately 6,000 SIM cards from operators XL, Axis, and By.U, as well as bank statement documents and transaction screenshots.
The police also formed a special team to trace the assets of the suspect and the network involved in the case.
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