Nearly Scammed in Guatemala!!
 

Only 4 days back in LatinoAmerica, and someone tried to scam me for the first time after having travelled previously throughout with no problems. It's apparently quite a common scam, but if posting here saves someone being got at, then it's worth it. As I approach the ATM, Hombre 1 is just arriving and pops in before me. He is taking a long time, and I think his nervous glances are because he can't find the "dame plata" sign. Meanwhile Hombre 2 arrives looking incredibly patient. I shoot in, not even bothering to latch the door. Luckily, because I didn't want to pay the $1 fee, I cancel the transaction, but I can't get to my card. On further inspection, a piece of plastic has been super-glued in place, acting as a one-way valve. By the time I rip it off, the card has been swallowed by the machine. Hombre 2, not realising that it's a draw, offers to help, proferring his mobile phone, and showing me the help number he is about to dial. I keep shtum, but he then starts talking to someone on the phone explaining my predicament. I think at this moment I was supposed to casually blurt my PIN into one end of his phone - chinga!!! Well I didn't, but I have still lost my card, so heads up, (or should that be down), people. Check those holes before entering.

Suerte Amigos

Postscipt
 

Well I say, "nearly scammed", but somehow, someone has either managed to clone or get their hands on my actual card. At this time I suspect that there has been some collusion with whoever gets access to the machine's vault - I have no other explanation, because my account has been drained by small transactions at gas stations. No cash though, because they don't have my PIN. Now, I would always recommend drawing cash during the week, when the banks are open, and there are armed guards, police etc. For me this is a bit of a kick up the arse because I thought I was pretty savvy.

Thanks for the advice SM!

They're always very creative.

That's unlucky Stretcher, don't let it spoil your trip. Leave it behind and then onwards and upwards. ; - )

Thanks, already forgotten. Just wish I could get this bloody bike to work.

I got my account drained in Guatemala too. The card never got away from me and I never gave my pin to anyone. I put the card in an ATM and it didn't work, so I got cash from the one next to it. A couple of days later my account was empty from 2000 Quetezale withdrawals.

The bank did and investigation and gave me my $4,000 back

This was about four months ago in Antigua

Atm
 

Hello,

Usually what is glued onto the ATM is a small card scaner, getting your magnetic stripe details into a memory chip also inside the little plastic thing looking like nothing.
Usually this goes with a little diode size camera shooting the area of the ATM where you enter your code..from above and it looks like "standard" on the ATM, if you even notice.
Look no badly intentioned person is in the surroundings and unmount the scanner then give it to the police or destroy.
They need your card details to build a new one, in gas stations they might not need your code, neither for e-shopping.

Matt

new (?) ATM hazard to watch out for
 

This does not quite fall under the heading of getting scammed but will be of interest to others who use far flung ATMs.
This past summer on my first day in Morocco I withdrew some cash from an ATM and everything went fine- cash came rolling out of the slot, my bank card came out of its slot and the receipt appeared.I pulled out the receipt and folded it up , then took my card back and just as my hand reached to take the cash it rolled back into the machine. .Panic!. I swiftly went into the bank behind the ATM and explained what happened. The manager assured me that this was no cause for worry, the ATM of the newest dessign by NCR was programmed to take back the cash after X-seconds to avoid snatch and run street criminals , and he said the transaction would be anulled by the machine.
A month later it had still not reappeared on my bank account so I phoned the worldwide toll-free number for assistance on my card and they started an investigation. Two weeks later I had my cash back on my account. PHEW.
LESSON : grab the cash FIRST from now on !!

Blimey, I think I might go back to Traveller's Cheques, or gold sovereigns, or something. Considering the risk associated with having a card cancelled or nicked, I think it underlines the need for spare cards and other forms of currency/back-up.

Got the bike working, but where the hell do I go to pay my Multa for my unpaid Impuestos?