Jakarta. The National Police have named three suspects who allegedly stole money and personal data from unsuspecting individuals by creating fake Formula E and state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) websites following months of investigation.

The syndicate created a fake Formula E website and tricked users into giving up their money by offering tickets for the Jakarta race in June, police said on Wednesday. 

Each ticket was priced at Rp 517,000 ($33).

“The website provides a WhatsApp number for communications during ticket purchase,” said Chief Commissioner Reinhard Hutagaol, an investigator with the National Police’s cybercrime directorate.

In another case, the syndicate created a website designed to look like BRI digital banking app called BRImo.

"They sent mass WhatsApp messages simultaneously telling recipients of a change in the tariff of money transfer and a responding user will get a link which contains a malicious phishing web," Reinhard said.

"After [BRI] customers fill in their data on the phishing web, the suspects could easily obtain their personal data like username, password, and OTP [one-time-password] notification for internet banking," he added.

The phishing web allowed the suspects to steal money from BRImo users and to make transactions in their names.

The officer said that BRI has confirmed it doesn’t have the web version of BRImo, which is only downloadable via Play Store or App Store.

The website creator identified by initials FI, 25, was arrested in the South Sulawesi town of Rappang on September 26, Reinhard said.

Police have launched a manhunt for two other suspects identified by initial H and N.

They were charged under the Electronic Information and Transaction Law which carries a sentence of six years in prison.