Brisbane Model Robbed Two Times In One Night During Bali Holiday

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A Brisbane-based model and influencer, Geena Coulson, 26, had been enjoying a luxury 9-day holiday in Bali when the whole trip came to a disastrous close. Coulson was traveling in Bali with her friend, who was also caught up robbery during a series of incredibly unfortunate events. 

Left without access to her cards, or her phone, Coulson took to social media to say she couldn’t wait to leave. Her change of heart was understandable and she spoke to newspapers in Australia to share her story in more detail. 

She described the days after the robbery as ‘a nightmare, I felt unsafe the whole time. Despite going to the police Coulson did not have any success in getting her new iPhone back. Coulson and her friend have been enjoying an activity-filled holiday in Bali, their first trip away in over 2-years. 

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A post shared by Geena | Brisbane Model (@geenacoulson)

Before the night of the robberies, they had shared videos of themselves exploring several of Bali’s leading tourist destinations including The Sacred Monkey Forest, and touring a coffee plantation for a coffee tasting on a farm just outside of Ubud. 

On the night of the robbery, the duo had been enjoying the newly reopened Potato Head Beach Club. Coulson and her friend jumped on the back of moped taxis to get back to their accommodation. Coulson’s friend was helping her driver navigate the way home using GoogleMaps on his phone. 

As they drove through the dark streets, Coulson recalls how another moped driver sidled up beside them and snatched the driver’s phone from her friend’s hand. Panicked, the driver rushed off in chase, leaving Coulson’s friend hanging onto the back of the moped for dear life. She said ‘He going 100 km/h through the streets and my friend’s begging him to pull over – she was terrified’. 

Coulson’s friend then called her and begged for her and the other driver to come and rescue her. Following a live location on her phone, Coulson and her taxi driver eventually caught up with her friend. Only as soon as she reached the scene another moped driver swooped by and snatched Coulson’s phone from her hand.

She explained to reporters that ‘this other bike he goes past me and just snatches my phone out of my hand and then drives away…I was like, “He stole my phone!” but the driver didn’t chase him…’I don’t know if it was the same person because now I’m in a robber country, I guess’.

The pair were distraught and when they eventually got back to their accommodation immediately tried to get hold of Coulson’s bank to block the account that was accessible through online banking on the now stolen phone.

Much to her distress, the account had already been skimmed by the thieves who emptied the account of cash at a local ATM and even rang up an AUD 250 overdraft. Coulson was now penniless and phone-less far away from home. 

She went on to explain how she struggled to get a clear solution from Bali Police. ‘I went to the police, I was told I could either get a report for my insurance claim…or I could get them to investigate – but I couldn’t get both…I thought that was really weird – but then people messaged me to tell me I needed to bribe the cops to get them to do both…I thought was crazy. That is the last thing I want to do – I don’t want to get arrested for bribing the police and end up in jail.’

Coulson has been told by her bank that it will take them weeks to recover the stolen funds and her insurance company said they will only cover less than half the value of her AUD 2200 iPhone 13 Pro. This week another Australian tourist has her bag snatched while she was riding a moped in Bali.

The thief slashed her bag strap and also stabbed her in the leg. Travelers are being warned to keep their valuables hidden while riding mopeds or walking along streets in Bali amid a spate of similar robberies.