A while back we wrote a post about various scams to look out for when visiting the island of Bali (Read: 6 Common Scams to Avoid in Bali). Since then, a couple of videos have surfaced on YouTube showing two such scams in action.
The first video shows a man pulled over by police for not wearing a helmet or having a license, who is then told he can avoid going to court in Denpasar for paying the 200 000 Rp ticket directly to the officer. This scam is an oldie, but the part where the foreigner is invited to share a beer with the cop after paying his “fine” was definitely one we hadn’t heard of before!
The second video shows some sketchy money changers in action, and the same guy in the video above even learns how the scam is done after catching a guy red handed.
Despite all of this, we couldn’t help but notice how kind and friendly the Balinese behaved in both videos. The police officer who offered to pay for the beers (with the foreigners fine of course!), and the money changer who sincerely apologized for trying to rip off the guy, and then offered to show him how the scam is done.
Corruption and scams are prevalent all over Bali, most of which never cost a foreigner more than a few dollars. So, one must ask themselves, is it worth getting angry and losing face after realizing you’ve been conned? Or, should one simply say, “Bali Bagus”, and take the all of the good with the little bit of bad that this paradise island has to offer?
GATE20.com 
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