A look inside
Every scam in the book gets a four-panel comic. A sneak peek of two of the 73:
73 documented tourist scams across 12 Indonesian cities and regions — drawn from Indonesian press (Jakarta Post, Tempo, Kompas, Bali Post, Detik, Kumparan) and Ministry of Tourism (+62 21 3838 899) records. You’ll learn the exact scripts scammers use in Bali, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta, the red flags that give them away, and the Bahasa Indonesia phrases that shut them down.
A preview of what’s documented — scripts, red flags, and the moves that shut each scam down.
Every scam in the book gets a four-panel comic. A sneak peek of two of the 73:
From Bali’s fake-Grab airport taxi cartel to Jakarta’s Blok M honeypot bars, Yogyakarta’s Malioboro batik kickbacks, Mount Bromo’s Cemoro Lawang jeep cartel, Ijen Crater’s Paltuding shakedown, and the Labuan Bajo $500 “Komodo pass” invention — full coverage of where travelers actually get caught out.
Volumes 1 (Japan, 60 scams), 2 (Italy, 149), 3 (France, 191), 4 (Thailand, 67), 5 (Greece, 65), 6 (Vietnam, 66), and 7 (Spain, 103) set the series structure. Indonesia sits at a dense crossroads of Southeast-Asia scam archetypes — the fake-Grab airport script, the scooter-rental pre-damage claim, the money-changer sleight-of-hand, the volcano-tour jeep cartel, and the batik / kopi luwak / kris commission-stop pattern. Learn the Indonesia pattern and you’ll spot the same move in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila.
Every scam is documented against Indonesian news coverage — Jakarta Post, Tempo, Kompas, Bali Post, Detik, Kumparan — plus Ministry of Tourism advisories (dial +62 21 3838 899), tourist-police bulletins, YLKI consumer warnings, and firsthand traveler accounts on r/indonesia, r/bali, and r/IndonesiaTravel. Named operators and dated incidents where we have them.
A full appendix of Bahasa Indonesia exit phrases — “tidak, terima kasih” (no, thank you), “saya mau tilang” (I want the official ticket — the magic phrase for scooter traffic-police bribes), “saya ditipu” (I was scammed, please help) — with pronunciation guides and when to use them. Plus the 6 universal scam patterns that let you spot variations we haven’t documented yet.
Scams evolve. Bali money-changer sleight-of-hand tricks shift storefronts each season. Nusa Penida scooter-injury deposit claims creep higher with the rupiah-dollar rate. Bromo jeep cartels re-negotiate commission splits every monsoon — we re-research and update each book every year. Buy once, re-download future editions from your Amazon library.
“What the guidebooks won’t tell you.”
Indonesia is Volume 8 of 15 flagship titles. Japan (Volume 1), Italy (Volume 2), France (Volume 3), Thailand (Volume 4), Greece (Volume 5), Vietnam (Volume 6), and Spain (Volume 7) are live. Each country gets the same treatment — real traveler stories, local-press sourced, annual updates.
Quick answers about the book, pricing, and updates.
Kindle eBook and 6×9″ trade paperback — the Kindle reads on any phone, tablet, or computer with the free Kindle app, and the paperback is available through Amazon’s KDP print-on-demand network.
328 pages in paperback, ~230 pages on Kindle — written to be read in a single flight over and referenced on your phone in-country.
$4.99 USD on Amazon Kindle. Price varies slightly by Amazon region.
Yes — we re-research and update each book annually as scams evolve. Buy once, re-download future editions from your Amazon library at no extra cost.
Yes. Amazon’s standard Kindle refund policy applies — you have 7 days from purchase to return for a full refund, no questions asked.
73 scams, 12 Indonesian cities and regions, the exact scripts and Bahasa Indonesia phrases you need. $4.99 — read it on the flight over.