Los Cabos Tourists Warned Of Credit Card Scam After Tourists Lose Thousands

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Last Updated 1 year ago

Over the last month, at least two travelers from Arizona have allegedly been victims of credit card scams in Los Cabos.

These two incidents both took place at a Pemex gas station that’s located near the airport in San Jose del Cabo.

In both instances, the travelers were filling up their rental cars before they had to return them, only to end up paying an extremely high price for that full tank of gas. 

In the most recent incident, a woman from Arizona pulled up to the gas station and tried to pay with a Capital One credit card after an attendant had filled up the tank.

She gave the attendant her card, and to her surprise, a few moments later, the attendant returned and said the card wasn’t working.

Although the American tourist was sure that she hadn’t reached the limit on her credit card, she went ahead and paid with another card to be able to get back on the road to the airport. 

It was only after she checked her credit card bill that she realized she had been charged $1,465 USD with “entertainment” in Spanish appearing on the bill.

Many credit card companies refuse to provide refunds for people who have been scammed potentially due to the nature of the fraudulent charge.

Ultimately some card companies tell their clients that they haven’t provided enough evidence to have the charge revoked. 

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The Issue Seems To Extend To Many Gas Stations Near The Airport

Local news outlets in Arizona were the first to break the news about two residents of that area being scammed in Cabo.

A quick look through some of the reviews for multiple gas stations near the Los Cabos airport on Google tells a similar tale. Multiple users have taken to Google Maps to downgrade the rating of at least 3 of the gas stations closest to the Cabo airport, with many users going as far as to claim that a major credit card fraud operation is taking place within them.

Unfortunately, these gas stations are in a perfect location to be able to perpetuate the credit card fraud scheme that they seem to be running.

They prey on tourists that are heading back to the airport and, therefore, most likely won’t be able to return to the gas station for the “proof” that some of these credit card companies are asking for to give them their money back.

The good news for travelers who are headed to Cabo in the coming days is that there are ways to avoid these issues. 

Ways To Avoid Credit Card Scams While Cabo

When it comes to gas stations in Mexico, travelers should know that they are not self-service. They are always going to be tended to by multiple staff members that work in the pump section.

At times what the staff there will do is take the card from the driver of a vehicle and make the charge at the machine, which they’ll claim is conveniently located out of sight.

In that situation, the best thing that you can do is accompany the attendant to the machine and watch over the process as your card gets charged.

This old trick of charging credit cards away from the eyes of the consumer is one that travelers should be aware of, particularly at places like bars, restaurants, any ticket office, and, of course, gas stations.

For those travelers who’ve now grown overly worried about their upcoming visit to Cabo because of this story, the best way to avoid this issue completely is to pay with cash.

There could actually be decent benefits for travelers who pay cash on their Cabo trip. However, the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Mexican Peso is not a favorable one for U.S. residents.

Travelers who find a decent exchange rate for their U.S. dollars in cash at an exchange within Cabo may want to consider getting out some cash to be able to pay with.

However, it’s also true that carrying too much cash can bring forth other issues. With all this in mind, travelers may do well to find a good balance this summer between using cash and cards to avoid these types of scams.