Famous for its parties on Bali, Indonesia is a country dotted with many more islands offering travelers a myriad of experiences. It is these island’s gorgeous beaches, out of this world cuisine, cultural attractions, friendly locals and budget-friendliness that attracts an increasing number of travelers year on year. This increase in tourists, however, is also giving rise to another undesirable element- scammers.

It is to prevent you from falling prey to such individuals that we at Travset, together with our veteran backpackers created this list of the most common scams found in Indonesia.

1. The crooked taxis

Indonesia as with all tourist hotspots is home to some taxi drivers who look to overcharge unsuspecting tourists.

Common tactics include asking for exorbitant fares at the end of the journey, quoting very high flat rates before the journey, rigging the meter to show higher fares or taking longer routes to the destination.

How to avoid- head over to our blog post on avoiding the crooked taxi scam.

2. Unlicensed tour guides

The unlicensed tour guides, also known as touts are in full force in tourist hotspots such as temples. These touts will offer discounted tours, which will have you being taken around to locations where you will be forced to purchase cheap trinkets at high prices.

The tout, of course, receives a commission from these shops.

How to avoid- decline any offer from touts. No reputable shop would employ touts to bring in business.

3. The holy men

If you would like to be sprinkled with some blessings from the so-called holy men loitering around the temples, it will cost you a pretty penny.

Such men garbed in the clothes of holy men are con men, and their blessings nothing more than a splattering of words.

How to avoid- decline such offers and steer clear of those who come close to you with offers of holy bracelets.

4. The beauticians

Touts who offer beauty services such as massages, manicures, pedicures and sunscreen rubs are not unheard of on the Indonesian beaches.

These touts, however, are rather cunning and might have you charging extra as the price they quoted during the manicure negotiation was for one finger only.

How to avoid- decline such offers.

5. Pickpockets

It is tough to escape the thieving hands of pickpockets in Indonesia as with other countries. Such pickpockets operate in twos, with one creating a distraction whilst the other does the robbing.

How to avoid- be hawkish about your possessions. We recommend reading out an in-depth guide on how to stay a step ahead of pickpockets.

6. Monkey scam

Be wary of monkeys in the Ubud monkey forest as some of them have been trained to snatch valuables from tourists while they are distracted.

Once the monkeys have taken a valuable the only means of recovering it would be by appealing to the workers at these forests who are able to get the monkeys to return the stolen good. This, however, does not come free.

How to avoid- keep a watchful eye over any valuables you own in locations monkeys are known to frequent and snatch valuables.

7. Fraudulent money changers

Many tourists have been duped by the fraudulent money changers that are advertising their services using touts.

These money changers have been known to scam their victims by using atrocious exchange rates, rigged calculators, forged notes/damaged notes and using sleight of hands to give less than due.

How to avoid- use reputable and genuine money-changers such as in banks.

8. ATM scams

It is wise to be cautious when using ATMs in Indonesia as reports of ATM fraud is not unheard of.

Some ATMs are rigged with card skimmers to make clones of the said card and/or contain additional hardware that swallows the inserted card when the owner tries to withdraw it from the machine.

How to avoid- use ATMs in locations that are well lit, under surveillance and/or guarded by security. A bank is a good bet.

9. Fake alcohol

Alcohol that is created locally is plentiful and cheap. These are also highly toxic since most are made from ingredients that are unfit for human consumption.

Consuming such alcohol will only have you risking your health.

How to avoid- see our guide to fake alcohol and how to identify them.

10. Damaged equipment

Many tourists rent motorcycles from agencies in order to travel within the country.

A few rental agencies, however, accuse the tourists of damage to the motorcycles upon return and ask for compensation.

Some even have the motorcycles stolen and accuse the tourist of negligence in order to get compensation.

How to avoid- ensure you take pictures of the motorcycle from all angles and point out any damage to the rental agency prior to signing the rental agreement.

It is also wise to get a lock of your own for the bike instead of using the one given by the rental agency in order to prevent theft.