TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Police nab two members of online blackmailing gang
Change Size
The Jakarta Police have arrested two men that were part of a gang of cybercriminals that had been operating a digital hacking and blackmailing scheme for a year. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he Jakarta Police have arrested two men who allegedly hacked 600 local and international websites for data to use in a blackmail scheme, its spokesperson has said.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said the two perpetrators forcefully gained access to private computers and networks to gather information and data to blackmail prospective victims.
“After the perpetrators obtained their victims' data, they used [the information] to threaten the victims that they would spread the data if [the victims] did not give them some money,” Argo said Tuesday as quoted by tribunnews.com. The victims were then instructed to send money via PayPal or as Bitcoin.
The two men are part of a group of six cybercriminals, each of which have a specific role in targeting victims. However, the police were only able to arrest two of the gang on Sunday in Surabaya, East Java.
Argo added that the cyber-gang had been carrying out the scheme for a year and had amassed around Rp 200 million (US$14,500) in blackmail money.
The police have seized a cell phone, several laptops and a modem in connection with the case. The perpetrators will be charged under the Money Laundering Law and the Electronic Information and Transactions Law. (wnd)
