The People With Bank Cards

The Riviera Maya gang’s scheme specifically targeted foreign tourists — primarily Americans, although Romanians and other Europeans were not spared — who visited Mexico’s most popular holiday destinations, such as the Caribbean resort towns of Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, and the surfing destinations of Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta. Once users inserted their bank cards into one of the manipulated ATMs and entered their PIN codes, the gang had everything they needed to create a cloned card. Typically, however, they would wait a few months before withdrawing any cash. They would take out relatively small amounts, and often in different countries, to cover their tracks.