£600 for cheese? The Brazilian beach scams that cost visitors dear | Scams

When Lisa Selby* used her debit card to buy two slices of grilled cheese from a beach vendor in Rio de Janeiro, she expected to pay 40 reais (£5.90) ​​for the snack.

But soon after payment he realized he had been charged 4,000 reais (£590) after the merchant added two extra zeros to the card reader.

“He showed me the correct number on the contactless terminal, but then he turned it towards himself and, unbeknownst to me, added two zeros just as I was about to tap it with my phone,” he said. “He then pointed out that there was no paper for the receipt and walked away.”

Holidaymakers have been warned to be wary of crime in Rio. A beach vendor was arrested last month after a British man was duped into paying £1,500 for a kebab, while an Argentinian tourist discovered his £3 corn on the cob had cost him £3,000.

what does it look like

Unscrupulous traders take advantage of tourists who are unfamiliar with the local currency and less likely to spot a doctored amount.

A common method is to ask the customer to confirm the correct digit on the card reader, then secretly change it before the card is presented.

Some scammers point their card readers at a customer’s card or phone to complete the payment without the customer checking the amount.

What should we do

The scam exposes a gap in consumer protection in the UK. Customers who are tricked into sending money to criminals via bank transfer in what is known as authorized instant payment fraud are generally entitled to a refund from their bank. However, victims of in-person sales scams are unlikely to get their money back unless they provide evidence that they were overcharged.

Selby discovered the fraud shortly after payment and immediately alerted his bank, Monzo. A representative said it would be refunded to him since the transaction was still pending. Monzo later admitted that it had been given incorrect information and said the authorized payments could not be reversed.

Attempts to claim the money through the card provider’s chargeback scheme, which allows a dispute to be raised with a merchant in breach of contract, were unsuccessful as there was no invoice or receipt showing the agreed price.

After Monzo contacted Guardian Money, they refunded it as a goodwill gesture. Reports of beach vendor scams are increasing, but Selby’s experience was classified as a buyer/seller dispute rather than fraud because it allowed card payments.

A spokesman said: “We understand this has been a very frustrating experience for the customer. While our reasons for rejecting the request are correct, we recognize that our communication fell short of our usual high standards.”

The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates UK banks, has confirmed that pending transactions generally cannot be reversed and chargebacks are a voluntary service offered by card issuers who are free to decide their own criteria and processes.

It was stated that victims can make a request to their bank for an unauthorized transaction due to their failure to consent to the amount withdrawn, and if they are not satisfied with the response, they can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Holidaymakers are advised to pay cash to mobile phone vendors to avoid getting caught, or to insist on inserting or swiping their cards themselves, holding the card reader to avoid a last-minute change in price.

* Name changed