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Indonesian activists are calling on mobile phone users to turn their devices off today to protest the unwanted and unregulated theft of their telephone credits.

One of the groups urged users to switch off their phones from 10 a.m. to midday as “shock therapy” for providers while another called for a day-long boycott.

“If consumers turn off their cellphones simultaneously for two hours, operators will lose a 120-minute chance to make money,” said Harja Saputra, the leader of Voice of Humanism.

The group blames cellular providers for the credit problems, saying that under the law they have full authority to deal with problematic content providers.

“Because content providers, as the ‘credit thieves,’ seek shelter under the cellular provider’s roof, it means there’s a collaboration between the two providers,” Harja said.

The groups have been circulating messages by BlackBerry as well as setting up a Web site to coordinate the activism.

“We, as consumers, have the right to turn off our cellphones anytime we want. If everyone in Indonesia turned off their cellphones simultaneously, cellular providers will see what the consumers can do,” one group said in a message circulated by BlackBerry Messenger.

The same message was also posted on Twitter and Facebook.

The groups urged the government to disband the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Body [BRTI].

“BRTI was founded based on Law 36/1999 on Telecommunications,” Harja said. “The law was made on behalf of the people so the law must take sides with the people — in this case, the cellphone consumers.”

The outcry over the unwanted telephone credit thefts came to public attention when Feri Kuntoro from East Jakarta reported Telkomsel to the police last week for letting a content provider siphon his telephone credits.

But Feri was later himself reported to the police by Colibri, a content provider, even though he says he did not level any accusations against them.

Earlier this week, Feri told the Jakarta Globe that he was being harassed after lodging the report and that he had appealed to the Victim and Witness Protection Agency (LPSK) for help.

Harja said that as the call for a boycott had circulated, he had been invited to speak to various media outlets, garnering him fame both online and off.

“I don’t have the ambition to become famous,” Harja said. “I just want to channel my frustration and people’s complaints into a joint movement.”

The group estimated that 30 percent of Indonesia’s cellphone users would participate in the boycott.

“So don’t forget to set your alarm clock,” he said.