Apparently it’s fairly common, and not just to foreigners. An American like me or a Brazilian like my language teacher might one day swipe their bank card at an ATM, withdraw cash, and the next day or week several thousand dollars has suddenly been withdrawn by a mysterious entity at a number of mysterious ATMs.
Here’s how I think it happened to me.
When I arrived to Rio on September 5, I needed cash. The airport’s banks were yet to open, so I was limited to the collection of ATM machines in a quiet and dusty alley on the second floor. The first ATM machine didn’t accept my card, so I tried another, then another, and in total about six different machines, some twice. None worked. Luckily I had a few US dollars that the taxi service accepted in exchange for a ride into the city. Two weeks later, I checked my bank account to find more than $2,000 had been withdrawn, and not by me.
I checked my wallet — the bank card was still there. I called my bank and blocked my card and filed a fraud report with the Rio Tourist Police. An officer told me that I was the third foreigner THAT DAY to complain of the same form of bank fraud and file a complaint.
What happened? I later read that all those unmonitored ATMs at the airport are notorious for acts of bank fraud. Felons install a recording software that scans the bank card and somehow also records the pin number. The information is sent to a lab that reproduces an identical copy of the card.
Before arriving I was repeatedly warned to watch out for assailants, muggers, robbers… That’s all wrong. Sure, be careful and don’t walk down a dark alley alone with a lot of bling hanging off you. But the real threat has already moved into the cyber world here.
On a brighter note, I like the food here, especially the acai. It’s my new icy addiction. Acai is the name of a berry, but in Rio an order of “acai” gets you the frozen berry in slushy form.
The drink is ubiquitous, and always available as a parfait with granola. They’re normally super sweet, which can be good when in need of a sugar rush. I just need my new bank card to arrive so I can keep buying these acai drinks…
