Scammer arrested after manipulating payment terminal to overcharge 1,000-fold in latest in spate of seaside cons
A scammer has been arrested in Rio de Janeiro for selling a kebab to an unsuspecting British tourist for nearly £1,500 – the latest in a spate of brazen beachside swindles.
The man was detained on Tuesday on Copacabana beach, just over the road from two of the region’s top hotels. He and an accomplice allegedly manipulated a payment terminal to dramatically overcharge the foreigner for their meat skewer. The victim reportedly paid 10,000 reais (£1,480) for the meal rather than 10 (£1.50).
The crime is the latest in a series of seashore cons to hit the headlines in Brazil’s most famous city. In recent months criminals have tried to charge two Argentinian tourists 7,000 reais (about £1,000) for two cups of açaí while a Colombian visitor was tricked into coughing up 2,500 reais (about £400) for a caipirinha.
In perhaps the most shocking case before the kebab incident, a woman from Argentina ended up paying 20,000 reais (nearly £3,000) for a margarine-coated corn on the cob which should have cost 20 reais (about £3).
