Indonesia deports 50 Internet scammers back to Taiwan, China

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Officials say Indonesia has deported 50 Taiwanese and Chinese citizens who were members of a cross-border telephone and Internet fraud ring.

Immigration official Yurod Saleh said the 49 Taiwanese and one Chinese were sent home Wednesday to face charges there. They have already spent two months in Indonesian jails and have been fined $770 for violating their tourist visas.

He said 419 Taiwanese and Chinese citizens have been arrested since August in several major Indonesian cities for involvement in cross-border telephone and Internet fraud. About 280 have been sent home since October.

No details about the nature of the fraud were given. Such scams generally involve suspects obtaining personal information or prompting victims to transfer funds into overseas bank accounts.