An urgent warning from an Australian woman about a Bali ‘coin scam’ every traveler needs to know
- Australians have warned of an emerging Bali currency scam
- Travelers targeted by scammers who demand to see Australian money
An Australian woman has lifted the lid on a sneaky scam targeting visitors to Bali.
The woman posted to the Bali Bugans Facebook group warning of the scam, which begins with an individual asking what foreign currency looks like to a tourist.
The scammer works as part of a team, often using women and children to distract any travel partners.
The person asking to see the money then continues to draw attention away from the victim’s wallet while another sneaks up behind and snatches it.
Many Bali Bogans members, sharing their insight about the popular tourist destination, shared their own experiences of being targeted by scammers in a similar way.
An Australian woman has lifted the lid on a scam in the popular tourist destination of Bali as scammers band together to distract travelers in an attempt to steal their money.
The woman wrote, “This man came up to us and asked if we knew of a good Italian restaurant to go to and I was trying to think of one near our hotel.”
He said “Aren’t you Indonesian?” (we look away from it) and I said “no Australian”. Then he shook our hands and said “Do you have Australian dollars” that he could look at.
I said, “We don’t show you the money mate we heard about your scams.”
“Well, they kicked like a bat out of hell.”
The Australian woman said the encounter took place at Lippo Mall in Badung, a regency district in Bali.
The traveler said the man was very “friendly and convincing” and if you hadn’t read about the scam before heading to Bali you would have fallen victim to it.
Another Australian said he encountered a similar scam while in Legian – on Bali’s west coast.
A woman revealed the scam to the Bali Bugans Facebook group, who shared insight into the popular island and talked about the emerging scam (pictured: tourists at a popular beach in Bali)
“(The scammer) introduced himself and said he was from Saudi Arabia and with his daughter,” the man wrote.
He told us that he will be visiting Melbourne soon. He showed us his gold watch and asked us what time it was from.
He flashed his wallet full of notes and asked if he could see our money. His daughter was behind my wife getting distracted and asking her for a product.
‘Luckily I said ‘no’ to showing him our money and walked away. They left the store very quickly after that.
Other commenters said they fell victim to the scam, with a woman revealing her husband was conned out of $100 because he showed the man the money while someone else was distracting her.
The scam is run by a group, which starts with an individual approaching a tourist and asking if they can look at their money in an attempt to distract them while a second person steals their money and wallets.
The scam is a variant of a popular scam in Bali where tourists are approached by strangers who put money on a table or hold it in their hands and ask how much money they have.
While distracted, the fraudster or his assistant grabs a wallet or belongings such as handbags.
said Angus Kidman, Finder’s travel expert news.com Travelers need to be careful with their money and wallets.
“Pickpocketing and theft are always a danger in any popular tourist area,” he said.
If someone asks to see your Australian money, the easy response is “Don’t carry any mate – you don’t need Australian currency here”.
“Don’t spoil your trip by being paranoid – just practice sensible basic precautions.”
