Costa Rica Blogs - Newsfeeds

Petty criminals are having a field day ripping off people for between 1000 and 20000 colones through tickets for false raffles or lotteries, and easy financing schemes on PCs or work opportunities.  While each victim is taken for a small amount, the criminals are getting away with large amounts of cash because of the number victims. 

Authorities believe only 2 percent of crimes are reported, since victims either don’t want to go through the procedure for reporting such a small amount, or they feel foolish that they were taken. The delinquents are normally well dressed, well spoken, and have great sales skills. They generally contact their victims by phone, and even set up offices in San José.  One agents said "what they do is look for what people need right now, like trips, computers, food or work. People believe them, even though sometimes they have doubts, and they go ahead. "

Types of Rip Offs

Vacations
The victim receives an invitation to dinner. At dinner, they are offered a share in a beach club.  They will get a few free days in the club as a gift.  The membership can be paid in payments, but they ask for the first installment to be paid by credit card.  The con artists charge the entire amount of the membership to the card.

Christmas Baskets
Door to door, or by phone, they offer a Christmas basket, there are different kinds but normally it is with wine, grapes, pears, and fruit cake. They charge in payments of 2000 colones.   When people call to pick up the basket, there is no reply or they say the company went broke and no baskets are left.

Travel with la "Sele"
When the National Team is about to play, offices promise packages with everything included.  They charge a 20,000 colon downpayment and promise to find tickets, visas and other documents.  Then they disappear with the money.

Computer Clubs
The scamster calls offering a club to buy a computer.  The  victim pays weekly quotas to a messenger that comes to their work or home.  They get receipts, but when they go to buy the computer the company does not exist.

Classified Scam
The criminals look for people who are selling their car in the newspaper.  They ask for a test drive, and along the way they ask to stop at a supermarket or pharmacy.  They ask to borrow money to buy something, then get out and never come back.

"Employment" Agencies
Offer work in Panamá with salaries of $1.500 (¢750k) per month.  In order to get the passport, they ask the victim to meet them at Immigration.  There they ask for up to 25,000 colones, and disappear inside the building, they never return.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 12th, 2005 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Costa Rica News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.