£600 for cheese? The Brazilian beach scams that cost visitors dear
Key takeaways
- Scam vendors on Brazil’s popular tourist beaches are a growing phenomenon.
- But shortly after the payment had gone through, she realised that she had been charged 4,000 reais (£590) after the vendor added two extra zeros to the card reader.
- “He showed me the right number on the contactless terminal, but then turned it round to face him and, unbeknownst to me, added two zeros just as I was about to tap with my phone,” she said.
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Scam vendors on Brazil’s popular tourist beaches are a growing phenomenon. Photograph: marchello74/Alamy View image in fullscreen Scam vendors on Brazil’s popular tourist beaches are a growing phenomenon. Photograph: marchello74/Alamy Scam watch Scams£600 for cheese? The Brazilian beach scams that cost visitors dear Travellers warned to beware of debit card cons after one was charged £1,500 for a kebab and another £3,000 for corn on the cob
Anna Tims Sun 24 May 2026 07.00 BSTLast modified on Sun 24 May 2026 07.01 BSTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleWhen Lisa Selby* used her debit card to pay for two slices of barbecued cheese from a beach vendor in Rio de Janeiro, she expected to pay 40 reais (£5.90) for the snack.
But shortly after the payment had gone through, she realised that she had been charged 4,000 reais (£590) after the vendor added two extra zeros to the card reader.