🇮🇩 Prevent · call · protect · recover
Safety, scams and emergency planning in Bali
In Bali, everyday family risks such as roads, pools, open villas and payment fraud sit alongside less frequent but serious hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic disruption. Emergency access varies around the island, so check the exact home, school and hospital routes instead of relying on one island-wide assumption.
Last verified 1 September 2026
The short answer
How should a family plan for safety in Bali?
Save police 110, medical emergency 119 and the integrated local emergency number 112, but verify 112 availability for the exact Bali regency. Also save the chosen hospital and local PSC direct lines. Use BMKG/InaTEWS for earthquake and tsunami information, MAGMA for volcanoes and OJK’s official IASC portal after financial-transfer fraud.
Save before you need them
Emergency and scam-response numbers
These are starting points, not the whole plan. Save the exact home and school addresses, direct hospital and insurer lines, and a local-language landmark. Call routing, coverage and English support can vary.
Police
Free police reporting and urgent police assistance.
Integrated local emergency
Free integrated emergency routing where the local authority has implemented the service.
Medical emergency
PSC 119 is the Ministry of Health emergency medical and ambulance route.
Financial scam response
Report recent financial-transfer fraud to the OJK-led Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre and to police.
Four practical stages
Break safety planning into questions you can answer
- Prevent: choose safer homes, routes, providers and payment methods.
- Recognise: know the warning sign, scam pattern or official alert.
- Respond: protect people and stop the loss through the correct channel.
- Recover: restore identity, money, medicine, school pickup and communication.
Pause before paying or following instructions
Common scams and how to respond
A nationality, accent or polished office does not confirm that an offer is genuine. Check the named person, legal entity, authority, account and written terms using contact details you found independently.
| Pattern | Pause when | Protect before | Respond after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fake IASC or official-help website | A search advert, message or ‘representative’ offers to recover money or uses a lookalike reporting site. | Type the official OJK address iasc.ojk.go.id directly. IASC reporting is through that official site. | Contact bank/provider, report through the genuine IASC portal and make a police report; do not pay a recovery fee. |
| Rental, school or service deposit | A scarce property, place or visa appointment supposedly requires money before identity, authority, exact terms or a live verification is complete. | Verify the named person and entity through an official register or separately sourced contact; obtain a reviewable contract and pay only to the verified counterparty. | Stop further payment, contact the payment provider, preserve the listing and contract trail, and report through the relevant police, regulator and platform route. |
| Card, ATM or QR-payment diversion | The terminal leaves your sight, the ATM has an overlay, a helper intervenes, or a QR code/account name does not match the seller. | Use bank or well-managed ATMs, cover the PIN, keep the card visible and confirm the payee inside the payment app. | Freeze the card/account, dispute quickly, change exposed credentials and keep receipts, location, time and merchant details. |
| Taxi, transport or rental pressure | The driver rejects the agreed channel or meter, changes the destination, demands a passport, or invents damage after the trip. | Use reputable/pre-booked operators, share the journey, photograph condition and agree price, route and deposit terms in writing. | Prioritise personal safety, move to a staffed public place, contact the operator or police and preserve booking, plate and payment evidence. |
| Money changer or cash-count diversion | The displayed rate is implausible, the counter is informal, or notes are counted repeatedly out of view. | Use reputable authorised providers, confirm rate/fees and count once before leaving without allowing a second diversion. | Do not confront unsafely; preserve receipt/location details and report through police/provider routes. |
Make the plan work for the whole family
Five family arrangements to check and practise
The plan should still work when adults are apart, a child is at school, the main phone is unavailable or the usual road is closed.
Home and pool
- Before
- Inspect the real unit for fire exits, smoke detection, balcony/window limits, pool barriers, glazing, stairs and night access.
- Practise
- Two ways out, adult supervision handover and a meeting point outside the building.
- Red flag
- A beautiful property whose only safety answer is ‘children are always watched’.
School and childcare
- Before
- Obtain the safeguarding lead, emergency communication method, transport rules and authorised-collection process.
- Practise
- Who collects each child if phones, roads or school transport fail; agree two backups.
- Red flag
- No written reunification or release process, or unclear responsibility on a school bus.
Road and water
- Before
- Research licensing, insurance, child restraints/helmets, ferry operator and swimming supervision—not merely journey time.
- Practise
- A no-phone pickup point and a rule for abandoning a journey when weather or equipment is wrong.
- Red flag
- The family plan depends on an uninsured scooter, unsuitable helmet, overloaded boat or informal driver.
Medical response
- Before
- Save the chosen hospital’s direct emergency number, insurer assistance line, paediatric route, payment/deposit terms and evacuation process.
- Practise
- One adult calls while the other takes the medical wallet, medicines and child; know who stays with siblings.
- Red flag
- Relying on ‘the nearest hospital’ without checking capability, access or payment.
Documents and money
- Before
- Keep encrypted and offline copies of passports, visas, insurance, prescriptions and consent documents; maintain two payment routes.
- Practise
- Freeze a card, reach the insurer and locate the nearest passport/consular route without the lost phone.
- Red flag
- Every document, OTP and payment method depends on one handset or bag.
Warnings need actions
Weather and disaster planning
An alert only helps when the household knows which official channel to trust, what it changes and when to leave. Historic seasons are not forecasts.
Earthquake
- Monitor
- BMKG and InaTEWS; know natural signs as well as alerts.
- Prepare
- Drop–Cover–Hold On, secure heavy furniture, inspect exits and keep shoes/light by the bed.
- Act / leave
- After shaking, use stairs, avoid damaged buildings and follow official instructions.
Tsunami
- Monitor
- BMKG InaTEWS, sirens and local evacuation information.
- Prepare
- Walk the signed inland/uphill route from home, school and beach; agree who collects children.
- Act / leave
- After strong or long coastal shaking, move inland/uphill immediately—do not wait for a phone alert.
Volcano and ash
- Monitor
- MAGMA Indonesia and official exclusion/aviation information.
- Prepare
- Protect lungs/eyes, medicines and indoor air; maintain a route and budget that does not depend on one airport.
- Act / leave
- Respect exclusion and evacuation zones; do not use distant appearance as a safety test.
Flood, landslide and severe rain
- Monitor
- BMKG climate/weather information and local BPBD/authority messages.
- Prepare
- Check exact road, slope, river and villa drainage; preserve power, water and a second route.
- Act / leave
- Move before a narrow access road is cut when authorities direct.
After an incident
What to do once everyone is safe
Protecting people comes first. Once everyone is safe, act quickly to contact financial providers, secure compromised accounts and report passport or insurance issues.
- 1
Protect people
Move away from traffic, fire, water, violence or a compromised device. Call the appropriate local emergency service for immediate danger.
- 2
Stop the loss
End contact, stop transfers, freeze cards and accounts, disconnect compromised devices and tell the relevant provider it is an active fraud.
- 3
Save the details
Keep messages, URLs, names, account numbers, receipts, booking details, photographs, times and a short factual sequence. Do not delete the conversation.
- 4
Report through the right route
Use police for crime and immediate risk; use the national scam/cyber route and financial provider for fraud; obtain a report/reference for insurer or passport claims.
- 5
Help the family recover
Replace documents and account access, notify the school or landlord where relevant, monitor accounts and change anything that left the family too dependent on one person, device or route.
Keep it available without the main phone
Save essential emergency details offline
Keep the information secure, limited to what is useful and separate from the main bag. Check that everyone can access it without creating an obvious folder of everything an identity thief would need.
Calls
Local emergency number, hospital direct line, insurer, school, building manager and two trusted contacts.
Location
Home and school addresses in the local language, map pins, landmarks and the nearest staffed meeting point.
Identity
Passport/visa copies, child consent evidence, policy number, prescriptions and relevant medical summary.
Access
Two payment routes, card-freeze numbers, spare keys and recovery codes stored safely away from the main phone.
Continuity
Essential medicines, baby supplies, water, torch, battery, power bank and the family’s realistic outage needs.
Reunification
Primary and backup collectors, out-of-area contact, meeting points and what each child should do if separated.
Risk changes street by street
Turn the country plan into a local one
A destination-level answer cannot replace an exact building, route, provider and hazard check.
Sanur
PrioritiseCoastal tsunami route, pool/villa safety, east-coast hospital access and wet-season drainage.
If the usual plan failsA low-rise coastal rhythm still needs a rehearsed inland/uphill evacuation plan.
Canggu and west coast
PrioritiseRoad exposure, flood/narrow-access route, construction and hospital journey.
If the usual plan failsA few kilometres can become a long emergency route; scooter dependence removes family margin.
Ubud / Gianyar
PrioritiseSlope/river/landslide screening, open-home barriers and medical referral route.
If the usual plan failsInland does not mean hazard-free, and narrow lanes may restrict response.
Connect the planning
Include safety in the wider relocation decision
Consider emergency planning alongside healthcare, transport, housing and city research, and keep the information somewhere the family will update and use.
Common questions
Questions about family safety in Bali
Should we rely on one national emergency number?
No. Save the appropriate national number, but also the direct numbers for the chosen hospital, building management, school and local disaster authority. Coverage, routing, language and location accuracy vary, and some countries retain separate police, fire and medical numbers.
What should we do immediately after sending money to a scammer?
Contact the bank, card issuer or payment provider immediately and say it is an active fraud; use the official national scam route where available; preserve evidence and make a police report. Fast action can improve the chance of funds being stopped, but no reporting service can promise recovery.
How much cash and documentation should a family keep offline?
Keep enough for the household’s realistic short disruption, not a conspicuous cache. Store copies of identity, insurance, prescriptions, contacts and recovery information securely and separately. The goal is to survive a lost phone, blocked card or outage without creating a new theft risk.
Which government travel advice should we follow after relocating?
Read the advice issued by the government responsible for your passport or residence, because it may affect consular help and insurance. Also follow destination authorities for live local instructions. Understand advised-against areas and policy exclusions, subscribe to alerts where available and remember that advice is a decision input, not a guarantee of safety.
What emergency number should families use in Bali?
Save police 110, medical emergency 119 and integrated local emergency 112, but verify 112 coverage in the exact regency. Also save Bali PSC 0361 251177 and the chosen hospital and insurer direct lines.
What should a family do after a strong earthquake near the Bali coast?
Drop, cover and hold on during shaking. If the shaking is strong or long and you are in a tsunami-exposed coastal area, move inland or uphill immediately using the signed route; do not wait beside the shore for an app, siren or visual confirmation. Follow BMKG and local authority instructions.
How do we report a financial scam in Indonesia?
Contact the bank or payment provider immediately, report through the official Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre at iasc.ojk.go.id, and make a police report. OJK specifically warns that fake sites and people impersonate IASC, so type and verify the official domain yourself.