Expert Staff to the Minister of Communication and Informatics for Social, Economic and Cultural Affairs, R. Wijaya Kusumawardhana, said that the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo) has prepared three special steps as a way to protect the Indonesian people from being trapped by illegal online loans (pinjol).

"First, we strengthen digital literacy, especially regarding digital security, thereby strengthening people's financial literacy. "We are collaborating with many parties from the Ministry of Education and Culture, and communication and information services in the provinces or districts/cities. We are encouraging them to protect the public," said Wijaya in an online discussion, Wednesday.

The digital literacy program is an annual routine program from the Ministry of Communication and Information in collaboration with the National Digital Literacy Movement (GNLD) to increase Indonesian people's understanding of the four pillars of digital literacy, namely digital skills, digital security, digital culture and digital ethics.

Wijaya believes that by increasing digital literacy, especially in the digital security pillar, people can be more careful when accessing a service, including in this case knowing which services are licensed and which are illegal.

"Along with this (digital literacy), financial literacy must also continue to be improved so that it is understood and people are no longer trapped by illegal financial practices and digital services, including illegal loans," said Wijaya.

The next step taken by the Ministry of Communication and Information to protect the Indonesian people from being trapped by illegal loans is to routinely provide a fact-checking channel that helps people get clarity more quickly regarding information about illegal online loans.

For example, to check an account affiliated with illegal practices such as online gambling, illegal borrowing, or fraud, the public can do a fact check via the cekrekening.id website.

The public can even report related accounts if they are found to have experienced fraud or been caught in illegal lending practices via the cekrekening.id website.

It was recorded that during August-September 2023, the Ministry of Communication and Information received 688 complaints from the public regarding illegal online loan affiliated accounts.

Lastly, the step to protect the public from illegal loans is to release a "Hoax Stamp" or also known as hoax debunking.

If it turns out that information circulating does not meet the facts, then the information will be labeled "Misinformation" so that the public will not be trapped and take the wrong step in making decisions.

With a system that ensures whether information is correct or not, people can be safer when looking for information references in the digital space, including those related to online loans, and can choose licensed services.

The Ministry of Communication and Information also regularly coordinates with relevant ministries and institutions, in this case the Financial Services Authority and Bank Indonesia, so that they can eradicate illegal online lending practices and increase public awareness regarding financial literacy.