Common scams in Indonesia
Most Indonesians you’ll meet are warm and honest. But popular tourist areas (Bali especially, plus Jakarta and Yogyakarta) have a small ecosystem of recurring scams. Knowing the playbook is the simplest defence. These guides cover what happens, where, warning signs, prevention checklists and what to do if it happens.
Scam guides (12)
Common Bali scams — the playbook tourists fall for
Taxi overcharging, money-changer short-counts, rigged ATMs, fake police, monkey-grab, beach pressure sales. What happens and how to spot it.
Read guide →Jakarta scams — what to watch for in Indonesia's capital
Taxi-meter scams, ATM skimming, fake police, mall pickpocket teams, and street-stall overcharging in Jakarta. Prevention checklist.
Read guide →Yogyakarta scams — what to watch for in Jogja
Becak-driver commission scams, fake batik gallery tours, Borobudur ticket touts and andong horse-cart overcharging. How to spot them.
Read guide →Lombok scams — what tourists should know
Fake fast-boat tickets, scooter rental traps, Gili Trawangan party-night problems, and resort-area pricing. Practical Lombok scam guide.
Read guide →Indonesia online scams — booking, fake agents and listing fraud
Fake villa listings, bogus visa-agent websites, WhatsApp impersonation, fake tour operator sites and crypto romance scams targeting expats.
Read guide →Indonesia visa-agent scams — what to know before paying
Bogus visa-agent websites, fake KITAS deals, ghost agents who take payment and disappear, and the agents who get you into more trouble than you started with.
Read guide →Property and rental scams in Indonesia
Fake villa listings, double-let scams, building-permit fraud, nominee ownership traps and the deposits that disappear. Prevention checklist.
Read guide →Taxi and transport scams in Indonesia
Airport touts, fake Bluebird imitators, rigged meters, ojek overcharging and the simple defences. Bali, Jakarta and other hotspots.
Read guide →ATM and card scams in Indonesia
Card skimming, shoulder surfing, card-retention scams and 'helpful stranger' tricks. How to use ATMs safely in Bali, Jakarta and beyond.
Read guide →Tour booking scams in Indonesia
Cloned operator sites, fake liveaboards, bait-and-switch package tours, and the platforms that protect you. Komodo, Raja Ampat, Rinjani.
Read guide →Currency exchange scams in Indonesia
Short-counts, rigged calculators, posted-vs-actual rate switches and the 'authorised' window stickers that protect you. Bali especially.
Read guide →Shopping commission scams in Indonesia
Driver-and-gallery commission scams in Bali and Yogyakarta — silver, batik, gems, art, woodcarving. How they work and how to avoid them.
Read guide →Reference articles
Yogyakarta Scams — The Becak Tour and Batik Showroom
Yogyakarta has its own characteristic tourist scam — the friendly becak driver who offers a 'cheap tour' that ends at an art gallery or batik showroom where you're heavily pressured to buy.
Online and Romance Scams — Indonesia-Based and Indonesia-Targeted
Romance scams, dating app fraud, fake Indonesia travel agencies, fake property listings, and various other online scams targeting visitors and would-be expats.
Common Scams in Jakarta — Taxis, ATMs, and Officials
Jakarta's scams differ in flavour from Bali's: more urban, more often involving fake officials, occasionally involving the airport. This article covers what to know.
Common Scams in Bali — A Pragmatic Field Guide
Bali has a small but persistent ecosystem of scams targeting tourists. The good news: almost all of them follow well-known scripts. This article walks through the main ones and the simple defences that work.
If you’ve been scammed
- Move to safety first; treat any injury
- Notify your travel insurance company within 24 hours — many policies require this
- File a report with the tourist police (see tourist police guide)
- If cards were stolen — call your bank to block them immediately
- For passport or major issues — contact your embassy (see emergency contacts)