A BioCatch survey of 100 Indonesian banking leaders has found social engineering scams are ranked as the top fraud concern more than any other type.
The survey of fraud management, anti-money laundering, and compliance leaders at Indonesian banks is one of 12 that BioCatch commissioned across 12 markets, covering 1,200 banking leaders at manager level or above. Indonesian respondents reported some of the lowest losses of any market, with 34% estimating annual fraud losses at their institution above USD 10 million, while more than four in five consider their existing controls effective.
Manipulated customers and detection gaps
In the survey, 43% of respondents reported rising fraud attempts and 42% rising fraud losses. Identifying customers who are being manipulated is respondents’ biggest operational challenge, and half named coached user journeys, where scammers guide victims through transactions, among their bank’s biggest detection gaps, with 19% ranking it as the single greatest weakness. Two in five also cited money mule detection, high alert volumes, and fragmented systems.
Thomas Peacock, Director of Global Fraud Intelligence at BioCatch, stated that Indonesian banks show considerable confidence in their fraud defences, but the findings raise questions about whether those defences are keeping pace with threats. According to Peacock, banks should not mistake the effectiveness of existing controls for readiness against emerging threats, as fraudsters continually change their methods.
Instant payments and reimbursement
Most respondents (63%) say their institution is fully or mostly prepared for QRIS and BI-FAST security requirements and rising fraud liability expectations, while 35% describe it as only partially prepared. In addition, 42% say their bank reimburses scam victims case by case, 27 percentage points higher than the next-highest market, and 55% are evaluating, procuring, or implementing new fraud prevention tools.
Subhashish Bose, Global Advisory Director at BioCatch, stated that Indonesia’s QRIS and BI-FAST payment systems have sped up how money moves, leaving banks less time to spot suspicious activity before funds disappear. According to Bose, fraud prevention must operate at the same speed as the transactions it protects. BioCatch’s behavioural intelligence is used by more than 400 financial institutions, analysing 20 billion user sessions a month.
