We didn’t think this bears a warning from the Bali Provincial Government, but here we are.
The administration warned the public over the weekend to be wary of WhatsApp accounts claiming to be Bali Governor Wayan Koster in order to ask for money.
A phone number ending with 1241 reportedly used Koster’s picture on their WhatsApp profile and has asked random people for financial donations.
Bali’s Communications, Information and Technology, and Statistics Agency Chief Gede Pramana told reporters yesterday that the public needs to be wary of such schemes.
“We received reports that there is a WhatsApp account with the profile picture of the Bali governor sending messages [to people] claiming to be the Bali governor [himself] asking for money,” said Gede Pramana.
“I can confirm to you that it’s not the governor.”
In general, Gede Pramana warned people to never respond to fraudulent messages, including from those claiming to be Bali officials.
So far, it has not been reported whether people actually fell for the Koster scam.
Of course, we all need to be cautious of people asking us for money on any messaging platform, as impostors can assume any identity online. Even of people we know.
