A 33-year-old women with the initials B.K. was deported from Bali after being arrested for skimming several years ago. In 2022, she was caught installing fake card readers in ATMs. One bank reported to the police about illegal transactions that occurred from November 27 to 30, 2021, at an ATM in South Kuta.
The police managed to apprehend her using surveillance camera footage. Dozens of counterfeit cards, laptops, flash drives, and even a wig were found during a search of B.K.'s house. At the time, the police suspected that there was an organized group of such scammers on the island, but no further information on this case has emerged. B.K. was fined 100 million rupiahs and sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in a local women's prison for her actions. After serving her sentence, she was deported from the country.
Ngurah Rai Sukendra, the head of the immigration office, reported that his staff monitored B.K.'s deportation.
Both incoming and local Indonesian scammers engage in such schemes. Identifying a "loaded" ATM is quite difficult, and living without cash on the island is still very challenging. Bali is gradually becoming digitized, but paper money is still in high demand.
The police remind tourists to follow several simple rules that will make cash withdrawals safer.
For example, before inserting your card, check the ATM card reader for strength, press on it, try to peel it off. Fraudulent devices are usually not firmly attached, so there is a chance that after these manipulations, you will find a fake overlay on the reader in your hands.
Another common trick is when scammers place a sign on the ATM saying "Out of order" with directions to an alternative ATM. Often, these are thieves redirecting tourists from a genuine bank-owned ATM to a private ATM that either charges hefty fees for cash withdrawal or has been tampered with. So just ignore such instructions.
Scammers will always try to outsmart tourists and come up with new tricks to do so, so it's best to always use ATMs located in banks and avoid ATMs not affiliated with banks (such as private ATMs), as well as ATMs in minimarkets and other shopping centers. In banks, as you understand, supervision over the machines and their condition is much higher than in some lone street booth with an ATM. In general, be vigilant and steer clear of ATMs that seem unreliable for any reason.
It also makes sense to transfer only the amount of money you intend to withdraw now to your card account, keeping the rest on a separate account.
Also, remember to check notifications from your banks about withdrawals. Often, small amounts of $20-50 start to be debited from your card, and there is a chance that you will be able to block the card before the damage becomes catastrophic. If there is no withdrawal limit set on the card, you can easily lose all your money.
The good news is that often in case of skimming, your bank will compensate you for the losses, but the investigation will take some time, and you may need to visit the bank's office in person to start it. Another small life hack is to check the reviews of the ATM on Google Maps.
In addition to ATMs, tourists may encounter problems with shady street money changers. The main rule here is to count the money without leaving the cashier. Even if the bills were just counted in front of you.
The fraudulent scheme is simple - just before handing the money to you, they briefly hide it from your view, and magically, instead of the promised five million, you end up with four in your hands.
Such a story recently went viral on the Internet. In Sanur, a foreigner was deceived at an unlicensed money changer. According to the victim, she and her guide entered the exchange office to exchange money for rupiahs. They were quoted a sum in the Indonesian currency, counted it in front of her, and handed it over to her. However, after she walked away from the exchange office and recounted the money, it turned out to be one million less than agreed upon. The tourist returned to the exchange office to seek justice. The employee refused to return the money, so the deceived woman filed a report with the police. If something similar has happened to you, contact the patrols or local pecalang, they will help resolve the situation.
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