Thousands of Australians anticipated journey to Bali this 12 months are being warned of visa scams focusing on holidaymakers, after many have been ripped off from pretend web sites on-line.
A visa to go away the Indonesian airport should be purchased for AUD $50 upon arrival. Still, some travellers have proactively purchased their visas earlier than they land, off the Indonesian authorities’s official web site. Or so that they thought that they had…
The Indonesian authorities’s web site, the place travellers can prepay their digital visa on arrival (e-VOA), has been imitated by scammers charging the typical traveller extra, or scamming them utterly.
This has left victims with nothing to get into Bali upon arrival, being compelled to line up within the queue to buy one other visa.
Some travellers have spoken out about getting charged increased charges after buying the e-VOA unknowingly by way of an company, however others have been utterly ripped off, buying solely invalid e-VOAs on pretend web sites.
Reports of the rip-off have since flooded the web, with many Bali vacationers sharing their very own tales of being fleeced.
One Reddit consumer stated: “My girlfriend used the working link to get my VoA. I’ve already been ripped off $120 AUD. I at least hope they will provide the visa. I should have got it at the airport itself.”
“I haven’t slept all night as a family member sent us the (wrong) link, and we processed several applications and hence lost a lot of $,” wrote one other.
The imitation web sites appear to be extraordinarily deceptive, with one traveller even saying one of many pretend web sites is a high end result on Google after trying to find an Indonesian visa.
The Indonesian authorities has since launched an announcement.
“We remind you again, the official website for e-VOA application is only at molina.imigrasi.go.id. The fake website www.indonesia-evoa.com was created by irresponsible individuals to make profits.”
One different reddit consumer shared the right hyperlink saying: “Any other links are scams, at worst they are stealing your money and your identity. At best they are processing your eVOA and making the whole thing way more expensive.”
Smarttraveller, an Australian authorities service, has good recommendation for travellers wanting to acquire an e-VOA for Indonesia.
“Avoid visa scams by applying for visas using links or organisations recommended by the embassy or consulate of the country you’re visiting (and) reading the travel advice for information on entry and exit requirements before you travel,” the web site says.
“If you travel on a fake visa, you may be arrested, jailed, or deported on arrival.”
The e-VOA can solely be utilized for a minimum of 48 hours earlier than travelling to the nation and may price IDR 500,000 (roughly AUD$50), together with a small on-line processing charge.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
