Love Scamming in the Digital Era: Legal Protection and Challenges in Handling Love Scam Cases on Dating Applications in Indonesia

This article investigates the regulatory landscape surrounding cyber-enabled romance fraud carried out through social media platforms in Indonesia. Love scams have risen as a notable problem, especially among younger adults who engage with dating applications. Although there are statutes that address cybercrime in general, the analysis identifies a gap in which no specific provision directly targets love scams, suggesting potential shortcomings in how this form of deception is defined, pursued, and regulated within the current legal framework. By examining how existing rules apply to online dating-related offenses and where they fall short, the study frames the issue as one of regulatory clarity, enforceability, and effectiveness in delivering redress to victims. In this way, the work situates love scams within the broader governance of cybercrime while signaling the need for more precise legal articulation to address this particular modality of harm. Employing normative research methods, the study probes the obstacles victims face in seeking justice and highlights deficiencies in the protections offered by the existing body of law. It identifies practical and doctrinal barriers that hinder the pursuit of remedies, including ambiguities in law, procedural hurdles, and gaps in targeted remedies for online dating victims. The findings also point to an unwelcome consequence of these gaps: a large portion of victims refrain from reporting incidents due to feelings of shame and fear of stigma. This propensity to remain silent contributes to a lack of data on how widespread such offenses are, complicating efforts to quantify the problem, allocate resources, and design effective interventions. The analysis emphasizes that underreporting undermines both empirical understanding and policy responsiveness, thereby impeding progress toward safeguarding potential victims. The article concludes with a call for strengthening the regulatory framework and increasing public awareness to reduce vulnerability to love scams. It advocates for more precise legal provisions that directly address the unique risks posed by romantic fraud in digital social spaces and for mechanisms that improve access to justice for those harmed. Beyond legal reform, the study underscores the importance of awareness-raising initiatives that inform the public about the dangers of online dating deception and encourage timely reporting. Taken together, the work argues that aligning the legal regime with the realities of love scams and elevating public understanding are essential steps toward better protection and more effective redress for victims.