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The Ministry of Social Affairs is investigating 1.49 million social aid recipients linked to online gambling and has discovered over 10,000 cases of identity theft involving the IDs of low-income citizens.
Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul, said the identities of citizens who should be eligible for aid were found being used to open bank accounts, purchase motor vehicles, buy land, and even establish companies.
These findings are significant as they demonstrate that anomalies in social aid recipient data do not necessarily mean the individuals named are the ones actually conducting these transactions.
Identity Theft And Misuse
Kemensos is now conducting further investigations to determine the actual circumstances of these identity owners. The search effort is mainly targeting residents within the first decile, which involves the 10% of people having the lowest welfare conditions.
Gus Ipul stated that he didn’t have the exact figure, but there were already more than 10,000 cases, whose identities were feared to be misused by other parties for different reasons.
Beneficiaries Linked To Gambling Transactions
This concern was brought up together with the ongoing investigation of 1,494,652 beneficiaries of the Basic Food Program who have been identified as potentially linked to online gambling activities.
The above figures were generated from the comparison between Kemensos data and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center. Of that total, approximately 794,000 KPM are also registered as recipients of the Family Hope Program.
The distribution of aid to those on the flagged list has been temporarily suspended while the clarification and verification process is underway.
Verification Process Underway
However, Kemensos emphasizes that being flagged does not automatically mean all these recipients are online gamblers. The examination covers both the aid recipient and family members listed on the same family card.
Consequently, the detected transactions could have been performed by a child, spouse, parent, grandchild, or other family member. In other cases, the government has also found the possibility that the identities or bank accounts of beneficiaries were borrowed or used by other parties.
Therefore, field verification is a crucial step before the government decides whether to terminate or resume aid. If proven, aid will not be distributed; if they are proven innocent, aid will be distributed.
Transaction Values Under Review
The scale of the detected transactions has also drawn government attention. Based on the data matching results, the average online gambling transaction found is around IDR1.9 million. However, one data point showed a transaction value reaching approximately IDR2.68 billion within a one-year period.
Previous Reinstatement Cases
Experience from previous verification periods is being considered by Kemensos to avoid immediately disqualifying everyone flagged. Out of approximately 600,000 recipient data points previously flagged for links to online gambling in earlier periods, about 21,000 recipients were eventually reinstated after examinations showed conditions that made them still eligible for aid.
Kemensos ensures that citizens who still meet the criteria will not lose their right to receive aid simply because of data anomalies. If the examination results prove that the recipient is indeed gambling and no longer meets the criteria as a beneficiary, the aid can be terminated and redirected to other citizens in greater need.
Data Protection And Education
Kemensos has requested social workers to increase education for beneficiary families so they do not easily provide their ID cards, population data, bank accounts, or access to financial services to other parties.
Social workers are also asked to assist in conducting assessments when discrepancies are found between the data and the actual conditions of the beneficiaries.
This case also highlights the government’s challenge in improving the targeting accuracy of social aid through the National Social Economic Single Data. Data matching with PPATK helps detect unusual transactions. However, the results still require verification so that the system does not disadvantage low-income citizens who are truly entitled to aid.
Source: Aktualita
