A Rio de Janeiro court has ordered the pretrial detention of a man suspected of using a card machine scam against a French tourist on Copacabana Beach last weekend. He is accused of using a payment terminal to charge the victim more than R$8,000 ($1,500).According to Rio's Civil Police, the street vendor offered two caipirinhas for R$80 as part of the scam. After several unsuccessful attempts to pay by credit card, the victim was told the transaction had failed and paid in cash instead. Later, after checking his phone, the tourist discovered that it had been switched to airplane mode and that a charge of R$8,246 had been processed on his credit card. Additional attempted charges totaling more than R$20,000 were also made but did not go through.
The suspect was arrested in the act on Copacabana's beachfront on Sunday (July 19). In ordering his pretrial detention, the court cited the vulnerability of foreign tourists and the need to prevent further crimes.
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