Ngurah Rai Customs Urges Public to Beware of Goods Redemption Scams

Fraudulent schemes impersonating Customs are becoming increasingly common among the public. Typically, perpetrators request a sum of money from victims by claiming to represent Customs, under the pretext that the victim’s goods are being detained.

The Acting Head of the Ngurah Rai Customs Office, Iwan Kurniawan, stated that perpetrators usually contact victims via WhatsApp, claiming that their goods are held at Customs and requiring payment for redemption. Furthermore, scammers often use the names of actual Customs officials to deceive victims.

“This practice of exploiting the Customs name for fraud is still prevalent. The scam involves claiming, ‘Oh, Customs is holding goods at the airport,’ and the victims are then asked for money to redeem them,” said Iwan on Wednesday (2/9/2026).

Iwan urged the public who receive notifications regarding detained goods or Customs bills to first verify the information with Customs authorities. “Therefore, we request that members of the public who receive such notifications confirm with Customs first. We have information services available for such confirmations,” he added.

Iwan explained that perpetrators typically request victims to make payments into private bank accounts. In contrast, official Customs bill payments are conducted using a billing code and are paid directly by the taxpayer to the state treasury through a bank.

Through this billing code, Iwan explained, Customs charges are paid directly by the relevant party to the state treasury via a bank, rather than to Customs officers or private accounts.