An Aussie woman’s urgent warning about Bali ‘coins’ scam every traveler should be aware of
- Aussies warned of emerging Bali coin scams
- Travelers targeted by scammers wanting to see Aussie money
An Australian woman has lifted the lid on a sneaky scam targeting visitors to Bali.
The woman posted a warning to Facebook group Bali Bogans about the scam that begins with a person asking what a tourist’s foreign coins look like.
The scammer works as part of a team, often using women and children to distract 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.
Several members of Bali Bogans, who provide insight into the popular tourist destination, shared their own experiences of being targeted by scammers using a similar method.
An Australian woman has lifted the lid on a scam in the popular tourist destination of Bali, where scammers band together to distract travelers in an attempt to steal their money
“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 the restaurant near our hotel,” the woman wrote.
‘He said ‘are you not Indonesian?’ (we look far from it) and I said “Not Australian”. He then shook hands with us and said “do you have an Australian dollar coin” for him to look at.
“I said, ‘We won’t let you see our money mate, we heard about your scam'”.
“Well, they left like a bolt from the blue.”
The Australian woman said the meeting took place at Lippo Mall in Badung, a regency of Bali.
The traveler said the man was very “friendly and persuasive” and had she not read about the scam before she left for Bali, she would have fallen victim to it.
Another Aussie said he had encountered a similar scam in Legian, on the west coast of Bali.
A woman revealed the scam to Facebook group Bali Bogans, who share an insight into the popular island and spoke about the emerging scam (Photo: Tourists on a popular beach in Bali)
‘[The scammer] introduced himself and said he was from Saudi Arabia and was with his daughter,” the man wrote.
“He told us he was going to Melbourne soon. He showed us his gold watch and asked what time it was where we were from.
“He flashed his wallet full of notes and asked to see our money. His daughter sat behind my wife who distracted her and asked her about a product.
Luckily I said “no” to showing him our money and we walked off. Then they quickly left the shop.’
Other commenters said they fell victim to the scam, with a woman revealing that her husband was scammed out of $100 when he showed a man the money while she was distracted by another person.
The scam is run by a group, which begins with one person approaching a tourist and asking to look at his money in an attempt to distract him, while a second person steals his money and wallet
The scam is a variant of a popular Bali scam 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 con artist or his assistant snatches a wallet or belongings such as handbags.
Angus Kidman, a travel expert at Finder, shared news. com travelers should be careful with their money and wallet.
“Business roles and theft are always a risk in any popular tourist area,” he said.
‘If someone asks to see your Australian money an easy response is ‘no partner with you – don’t need Aussie currency here’.
“Don’t ruin your trip with paranoia – just take sensible basic precautions.”