Possible ATM virus in Mexico

Not in decades in Guatemala - b/c I was working there at the time. Don't confuse issues

I'm calling you on it: I say you weren't there (in Guatemala) during the Jorge Serrano auto'coup. Send me a PM with evidence, and we'll take this off-Thread, On edit: because if you were there, we'll have some interesting stories and recollections to exchange, indeed.

"For every two steps forward to democracy in Latin America, something like the coup by President Jorge Serrano Elias of Guatemala is an unhappy step backward."

Cite: the Baltimore Sun

silversand wrote:

There hasn't been a coup in Guat or Hond in decades.

....uh, I think not:

-Honduras coup d'etat in June 2009 (I was advising an author working on a book in Honduras DURING the coup):

"On June 28, 2009, the Honduran military stormed the Presidential residence in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, and arrested President Manuel Zelaya. The deposed President was then taken to an air base, put on a plane, and flown into exile in Costa Rica"

Cite: 169 newspapers World-wide

-Guatemala coup in 1993 (I was in Guat City when the tanks rolled out; and, had to endure marimba music on all media 24/7 until the Army freed up ALL media networks to re-open!):

"In 1993, the president attempted to rid the government of corruption by suspending the constitution and firing the Supreme Court justices. The Constitutional Court and civic organizations declared the self-coup illegal."

Cite: Princeton University; and 72 newspapers World-wide

....that's 2 coups just in the last 4 to 19 years; hardly decades ;) Coups happen all the time in Central and South America; the regular Joe living in Europe or the USA (or, Canada) will rarely if ever notice.

In Mexico,I was in the Ocosingo area when the Mexican Army base was taken over by the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, (EZLN)near the cross-roads to San Christobal d L.C. That was a near "coup" that locked down the state of Chiapas under military rule. Oh, that was in 1994.

...sorry for the side-show; back to the program: unsafe ATMs & POSs in Mexico...

Not in decades in Guatemala - b/c I was working there at the time. Don't confuse issues. 1993 is 20 yrs.

There hasn't been a coup in Guat or Hond in decades.

....uh, I think not:

-Honduras coup d'etat in June 2009 (I was advising an author working on a book in Honduras DURING the coup):

"On June 28, 2009, the Honduran military stormed the Presidential residence in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, and arrested President Manuel Zelaya. The deposed President was then taken to an air base, put on a plane, and flown into exile in Costa Rica"

Cite: 169 newspapers World-wide

-Guatemala coup in 1993 (I was in Guat City when the tanks rolled out; and, had to endure marimba music on all media 24/7 until the Army freed up ALL media networks to re-open!):

"In 1993, the president attempted to rid the government of corruption by suspending the constitution and firing the Supreme Court justices. The Constitutional Court and civic organizations declared the self-coup illegal."

Cite: Princeton University; and 72 newspapers World-wide

....that's 2 coups just in the last 4 to 19 years; hardly decades ;) Coups happen all the time in Central and South America; the regular Joe living in Europe or the USA (or, Canada) will rarely if ever notice.

In Mexico,I was in the Ocosingo area when the Mexican Army base was taken over by the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, (EZLN)near the cross-roads to San Christobal d L.C. That was a near "coup" that locked down the state of Chiapas under military rule. Oh, that was in 1994.

...sorry for the side-show; back to the program: unsafe ATMs & POSs in Mexico...

in Antigua the robbers had placed scanners over the units and were getting pin numbers and cleaning out accounts

These swipe scanners have been used for years all over the world including the US - on things like gas pumps and any other device such as an ATM where you do your own swipe - but we have also heard of lots of retail clerks and restaurant servers who steal this info using swipe scanners of some kind. Which tells us we need to be very careful no matter where we are or what we do.

Last winter we got an email from Amazon acknowledging our change of email address - but we had not changed our email address - so contacted Amazon immediately (which is also why we check our email often and frequently - more than once per day if possible). Our Amazon account had been compromised somehow - someone buying stuff online in Michigan while we were in Mexico - so our account was closed and our debit card canceled - no more cash in Mexico for me. Amazon will not tell us how this could have happened. Years ago my credit union debit card was compromised along with about 10,000 others while we were on a Caribbean island - the ATM ate my card and would not give it back - stuck on an island with no debit card and no money. It can happen to anyone anywhere. Proceed with caution everywhere. Have extra cards hidden away safely and have photo copies of cards and phone numbers to call to cancel any card that may have been compromised.

silversand wrote:


Some times wonky things happen like: when I was in Guatemala, and the fnancial services sector unilaterally announced: all traveler's checks can from henceforth only be cashed at Banco de Guatemala **in Guatemala City** !!! That was a PIA 'll tell you. Also, if you get caught in a coup d'etat (like in Honduras or Guatemala), only heavily fortified bank locales wll be open to do foreigner financial services at VERY limited hours...etc :)

That's when the embassy comes in handy. There hasn't been a coup in Guat or Hond in decades.

When we were in Guatemala three years ago, they were experiencing the very same problems with the atm's. But it was worse - in Antigua the robbers had placed scanners over the units and were getting pin numbers and cleaning out accounts.
They were never caught.

I always travel with AMEX travelers checks. Never had a problem cashing them.

....you could also do limited quantities in your ATM account: just transfer (via a secured banking connection on your computer) your estimated amount into your ATM-tied account from a non ATM tied account for a 2 or 4 week needs abroad (ie. just before a needed withdrawal, go on-line and transfer the exact amount needed + a minimum to keep account open ~~$10, and go to a secure ATM locale and withdraw it all); then the down-side to having your ATM unloaded is almost nothing. Just make sure your other accounts or ATM account aren't pre-set to cover an ATM over-draft!

I can't relate to the problems of ATMs and using cards for purchases in Mexico using foreign cards. We have Mexican bank accounts, online banking, etc. and have never had an issue. We pay for everything with debit/credit including gas. For work, I cannot deduct gasoline unless I have paid with a credit card. Just like in the U.S., our bank calls us if they see a strange charge on our cards based on location or amount. We check regularly on line.

In today's world one would be foolish to not keep an eye on their accounts based on the global problems with ATMs and electronic banking.

Last time I used traveler's checks was 1971 and it was such a pain I would never use them again. Finding a place to cash them? How much to bring? Where to get more? Slight variation in signature and they would not cash them. Of course this was a very long time ago but to get cash in San Miguel de Allende I had to go to my aunt's bank with her and they put the funds against her account until the checks cleared. And yes I know there is an American Express office in SMA.

Yes, we have had problems with ATMs in Mexico. We now have personal and joint accounts at two credit unions with debit cards for both of us with different numbers on all accounts. We use our computer to watch our accounts like hawks at all times no matter where we go.

Yes, we have credit cards too but we go to places that do not take them so we find we use a lot of cash. We would rather give a gas station attendant cash than one of our credit cards.

The problems we have had and have seen others have has had to do with machines that will not give money to certain cards. We use machines at banks whenever we can. We have different cards to use and can change our PIN or cancel a card at any time. You can be robbed anywhere you go in any number of ways. Being careful at all times usually works.

I would not want to stand in line and cash the traveler's checks but it is nice that they could be used as a backup.

Moisheh