Fuck! I Got Lebanese Looped!

That's right... the old fashioned Lebanese Loop scam. It all went down yesterday... I have heard people talk about getting got by this ATM scam, so I should have been aware of this... but I guess the surprise factor is what always gets people.

My group and I were in Panajachel, Guatemala... up early and ready to head to Chichicastenango, a nearby market. We cruised into town, some people to grab a bite to eat and others to use the ATM. I had a pocketfull of Quetzales but I figured that I might as well pull out some cash just in case. Three passengers and myself went to the centrally located ATM (one of four in town) and one of my passengers tried to use it but it wasn't functioning. There was a guy sitting on the stoop in front and he said that we had to roll up the street to the other ATM. We went to the one closest up the street and there was a guy out front of that one as well saying that it wasn't working and we'd have to continue up the street to use the one farthest away from the city center.

We walked up the street and to the bank vestibule that holds the ATM. Right as we were walking in a guy walked away from the machine and jumped on his cell phone as he exited the booth. I slid in, pulled my card out and got ready to use the machine. I don't know what it was but I got really bad vibes about the whole situation right before I inserted my card. The primary thing that concerned me was that it was a machine that you have to actually insert your card as opposed to sliding it but retaining it in your hand for the whole process. I had just given my whole group a speech about using the sliding move as opposed to the insertion method (wow, this is starting to sound interesting) and about how I NEVER use the insertion machines... and here I was using it.

Everything worked fine... I put in the card, entered all my info, got my money and then it asked me if I wanted a receipt and.... the machine froze. It tried to spit out my card but on the slot it looked as if something was obstructing it from ejecting. I saw it trying to come out and then it sucked right back into the machine. "Fuck!" I yelled and kicked the wall. Right as I yelled the guy who had been using the ATM before me came in on the phone and said in Spanish "Did it just eat your card? It did that to mine too. I'm on the phone with the bank right now." He was talking to someone on his phone and and telling him how it just ate my card too. I told him that I was a guide and that I needed to get my card out today since we were always on the move. He said that the guy on the phone wanted to talk to me since I was the last person to use the machine. I grabbed the phone and told the guy that I need my card today and that it was an emergency. He told me that I had to type in a code (1234) and then my pin #. I handed the phone back to the other guy and told him that the guy on the phone wanted to talk to him. Whilst he was talking I covered up my hand and tried to do what he had said.... the whole time the guy was looking at my hands. I should have known at this point that shit was sketchy... but I was so pissed about my card getting eaten up that I wasn't paying attention. The guy said that I didn't do it right, that I needed to type the code and then my pin and repeat it 3 times in a row. I covered my hand again and tried it again but nothing. I have a way of punching my pin so that people can't read what I'm typing even if they are watching and this guy wasn't getting anything. All of a sudden he said that the guy on the phone said that I would have to wait until tomorrow (Monday) to get my card and then he took off.

Once he left then I inspected the card slot a little better and my passengers and I started putting 2 and 2 together. Right as our suspicions started to brew a couple of cops walked up from off of the street and checked the machine. They pulled out a bit of tape connected to a bit of really sticky hard plastic and said that the device is used to catch the card so that the perp (sweet word... I watch a lot of Law and Order) can pull it out later and use it with the pin # he watched you type up.

I was pissed off!! I started to think about the whole situation and things started coming together. Everyone was involved. I think that they plant a guy out side of all the other ATMs (which are the sliding ones) telling the tourists that they are broken or actually breaking them so they then have to go up to the only one in town that you insert your card into. They did it on a Sunday which is the only day that the bank is closed and is also a huge shopping day for tourists since the majority of people that come to Pana on the weekend do it to be close to the Chichicastenango market on Sunday. I'm sure that tons of unsuspecting gringos make their way to the cash points to get money to buy souveniers. Then when I got to the machine I should have been more aware of my surroundings... Why didn't they guy warn me not to use the machine if he had just had his card get eaten? Why was there a piece of styrofoam covering up the video camera? Why was the guy changing the code that I had to enter? There were just too many inconsistencies and I should have been more aware.

Anyways... at the end of the day I got got. I doesn't really affect me too much. I was able to call home and have the card cancelled pretty much immeadiately and it doesn't look like anyone had access to my card. I got lucky and the machine actually did eat it. Now I just have the inconvenience of trying to figure out how to get my $ from my Wells Fargo account and into my other account of which I still have a card. Ugh!

If anything I hope that this helps others to be a little bit more cautious and aware. It sucks that situations like this cause you to be more skeptical about people than you already are... but that's the way it is. So be careful and if there is anyone being a little too friendly when the ATM you're using craps out on you... watch out for the Lebanese Loop!