Los Cabos Tourists Advised To Watch For This Growing Scam As High Season Begins

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Last Updated 10 months ago

As Los Cabos’ popularity increases, so does the number of scammers offering fake services to the many tourists visiting this area.

In the last few days, several people started to complain about a travel agency known as VG Tours, located in Altamira, in the state of Tamaulipas. 

Apparently, this agency has committed several frauds for over half a million pesos, more than 28 thousand dollars.

What did the frauds consist of? 

VG Tours seems to have sold several travel trips to destinations all over Mexico, including Los Cabos, that never took place.

According to an article by Expreso.press, four women paid 50,000 pesos (roughly $2,870) for a trip to Los Cabos but everything was canceled last minute and no one was refunded. 

Unfortunately, they were not the only people scammed by this agency. Several others paid for tickets to an RBD concert that took place in Mexico City but again, everything was canceled and no refund was offered.  

Some people even paid for trips all the way to Paris that are supposed to take place in 2024 but it now seems obvious these are just other frauds.  

Kenya Ornelas, one of the many who got scammed by this company after buying a ticket to a concert to see Luis Miguel declared: “The truth is that this lady is a scammer (…). There is no way of justifying everything she has done. (…) She owes me more than half a million pesos.”

Back on November 15th, VG Tours made an official statement declaring that due to the poor health condition of one of its members, all the trips scheduled in November had to be postponed, even though it reassured its clients that nothing was going to get canceled from December onwards. 

It now seems obvious that that was not the case. The agency promised its clients a complete refund but the offices are now closed. 

Other scams in Los Cabos 

This is surely not the first time people booking a stay in Los Cabos realized they have been scammed. 

Local authorities regularly warn tourists to watch out for illegal and unauthorized tour providers.

For instance, this June, Maribel Collins Sánchez, head of The Ministry of Tourism and Economy (SETUE) of Baja California Sur, declared that tourists should be aware of the presence of many pirate services in Los Cabos. 

Not by chance, just a few months ago, several unauthorized vendors started to sell tour packages on Los Cabos’ beaches, offering discounted tickets and delivering ‘official’ receipts with confirmation numbers. 

Visitors are often eager to close these apparently convenient deals due to the incredibly high prices Los Cabos is now experiencing, with an average trip costing over $3000. 

But scammers are not only found in agencies and on Los Cabos’s beaches. The internet seems to brim with criminals selling fake services. 

Throughout the years, several people have purchased tickets to hotels and all-inclusive resorts in Los Cabos that never existed or still had to open. 

This is why local authorities always recommend directly contacting your chosen tour operator and hotel corporation before booking a room or tour from a third-party website. 

Is Los Cabos safe? 

Considering the frauds in Los Cabos, people heading here soon may now be wondering whether a trip to this municipality is a safe choice. 

The truth is that despite these scams, Los Cabos remains one of the safest places in Mexico with report after report regularly ranking this municipality among the safest in the country. 

Police forces here are highly professionalized and local authorities are constantly looking for new scams to keep tourists safe. 

On top of this, the local government is regularly putting in place a number of initiatives to increase Los Cabos’ safety levels.

To put it simply, Los Cabos tourists have nothing to worry about. However, keeping an eye open and a general inquisitive attitude whenever booking your tour or accommodation is always strongly advised.