Escape The Hack: Countering Cyber Scams with an Immersive Experience for Everyday Indonesians
🏛 U.S. Mission to Indonesia
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 15, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for organizations and institutions working on cybersecurity awareness and anti-scam initiatives in Indonesia. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, NGOs, think tanks, educational institutions (public and private), individuals, and public international organizations. For-profit entities are not eligible.
The program targets Indonesian citizens to raise awareness about online scams and encourage fast reporting to law enforcement. Activities must strengthen Indonesia's cybersecurity resilience and support the U.S. Mission's anti-fraud objectives.
Geographic focus is Indonesia. Projects should build public awareness through immersive experiences, educational events, or media campaigns. The grant supports innovation in cybersecurity education and public safety.
Not the right fit? Find grants for your organization in 5 questions →
Program description
Indonesia faces a pervasive and evolving cybercrime threat, with online scams growing in number and sophistication – while U.S. families continue to lose their life’s savings to international cybercrime, totaling over $12 billions in financial losses in 2023 alone. Unlike scam compounds in mainland Southeast Asia, criminal scam operations in Indonesia are decentralized and embedded within transnational networks. Thousands of Indonesian nationals have worked in scam compounds in Cambodia, Burma, and Laos, and there is now concern crackdowns in other countries prompting a wave of experienced Indonesian scammers to return home to establish new operations in collaboration with Chinese and other scam groups.
To strengthen its efforts in combating scams, Indonesia established an Anti-Scam Center (IASC) in 2024 to respond to citizen complaints, block fraudulent transactions, and recover victim funds. IASC data shows an average of 1,300 complaints per day. The IASC reports approximately $500 million in victim losses from November 2025 to March 2026, of which only $9.75 million has been recovered — a two percent recovery rate. To date, IDN law enforcement has not successfully recovered funds for U.S. victims. Officials state that victims’ delayed reporting (average of 24-48 hours) to the IASC and Indonesian National Police (INP) significantly contributes to law enforcement’s inability to recover victim funds. Faster reporting directly correlates with higher asset recovery rates, as fraudulent transactions can be blocked before funds are transferred across multiple accounts or jurisdictions.
In addition to harming U.S. citizens, digital fraud hurts U.S. companies as cybercrimes increasingly rely on direct messaging, platform-specific targeting, and syndicate-level tactics, with social media platforms emerging as a major channel for phishing, malicious APK files, fake investment groups, video-call extortion, and account takeovers. Criminal scam groups also tailor tactics across platforms, using Facebook for marketplace, romance, and fake job scams; Instagram for fake investments and impersonation, other platforms are used for donation scams, quick-wealth schemes, and deepfakes. Criminals support these schemes with technical infrastructure such as lookalike domains, fake sub-domains, shortened links, QR-code redirects,
free SSL certificates, and resilient hosting to make fraudulent sites appear legitimate and harder to disrupt. Indonesia’s Cyber and Cryptography Agency (BSSN) assesses that AI will increasingly be used as a “double-edged sword” with perpetrators creating highly natural phishing, automated chatbot scams, voice cloning and deepfake videos to impersonate individuals.
The “Escape the Hack” escape room and launch event addresses these threats through a popular entertainment activity that provides an emotional triggering connection with victims. By educating Indonesian citizens on recognizing scams, the dangers of working in scam centers, and the importance of immediate reporting — the program targets one of the most actionable gaps in Indonesia’s current anti-scam framework. A more cyber-aware Indonesian public that reports scams promptly strengthens the law enforcement’s ability to block fraudulent transactions in real time, benefiting both Indonesian and U.S. victims. The launch event with expert speakers amplifies this message to the widest possible audience through workshops, media coverage, and social media, maximizing the program’s impact.
The “Escape the Hack” initiative advances U.S. strategic interests by building cyber resilience in Indonesia — ASEAN’s largest economy and most populous nation — making America safer and more prosperous. The program promotes the United States as a global leader in cybersecurity innovation and demonstrates American commitment to addressing shared security challenges through innovative, people-centered solutions.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- Completed application form
- Project narrative/proposal
- Budget and budget narrative
- Organizational capacity statement
- Letters of support from Indonesian government partners
- Work plan with timeline and milestones
- Evaluation/measurement plan
Program contact
- 👤 Yenny Wijaya Grantor
- 📧 jakartapasgrants@state.gov
- 📞 622134359510
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 19.040 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$4,682,072
-
$3,371,312
-
$2,650,000
-
$2,446,525
-
$2,050,500
-
$1,861,451
-
$1,700,000
-
$1,565,795
-
$1,500,000
-
$1,480,000
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 19.040). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2018 | $129,428,262 | |
| 2019 est. | $34,549,598 | |
| 2020 | $129,979,440 | |
| 2021 | $128,999,999 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Nonprofits, NGOs, think tanks, educational institutions, individuals, and public international organizations are eligible. For-profit entities cannot apply.
What is the funding range?
Awards range from $100,000 to $300,000. Total program funding is $300,000.
What activities does this grant support?
Projects addressing cybersecurity awareness and scam prevention in Indonesia. Examples include immersive educational experiences, public launch events, workshops, and media campaigns targeting Indonesian citizens.
Is cost-sharing required?
No cost-sharing is required for this grant.
When is the deadline?
The application deadline is August 7, 2026. This is a fixed deadline, not rolling.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Emphasize how your project raises scam awareness among Indonesian citizens. Connect to faster reporting and asset recovery for both U.S. and Indonesian victims.
- Show understanding of Indonesia's cybercrime landscape and the Anti-Scam Center's role. Reference specific scam tactics (romance scams, fake investments, phishing) mentioned in the NOFO.
- Design activities that trigger emotional engagement. Immersive experiences like escape rooms create memorable learning that simple awareness campaigns cannot.
- Demonstrate partnerships with Indonesian government agencies (IASC, National Police, BSSN). U.S. Mission support strengthens competitiveness.
- Highlight innovation in your approach. Use of emerging technologies like AI for education shows alignment with Indonesia's cyber threats and U.S. leadership in cybersecurity.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications fail when they lack clear metrics for scam awareness or reporting behavior change. Show how you will measure impact on victim reporting speed.
Generic cybersecurity proposals without Indonesia-specific context score poorly. Tailor your solution to decentralized scam networks, transnational operations, and platform-based phishing tactics described in the NOFO.
Overlooking the critical connection between reporting speed and asset recovery undermines your narrative. Emphasize how your awareness efforts directly enable real-time law enforcement response.
Similar grants
- OPEN Vietnam CyberSafe Hacks 2026 — U.S. Mission to Vietnam
- OPEN Countering Terrorist Recruitment Online — Bureau of Counterterrorism
- CLOSED Expanding global health security through local partnerships in Indonesia — Centers for Disease Control-GHC
- CLOSED The Countering Violent Extremism Small Grants Program FY2022 — U.S. Mission to Albania
- OPEN Global Digital Threat Lab — Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor