Crime, Safety, and the Police

[Captain Solo]

Dickus,

Local guys said he had multiple stab wounds, his body wrapped up in tarp and weighed down with big rocks then taken out and dumped in the ocean in a panga. It did not look like not a crime of opportunity but more like a deliberate murder, deals went bad somewhere. As usual Mexican police is too busy stealing and squeezing every one for bribes to bother.

Cabo is right across from Mazatlan and Sinaloa, connected by a ferry across the sea of Cortez, a hot bed for drug cartels' reign. Guys living in Cabo said in the last 10 years, drug cartels moved in and took controls of bars, strip clubs, escort agencies, extracting high taxes with threats of kidnap and violence. Guys who operated escort agencies just closed up and left. Tourism and resorts operators are probably paying a stiff tax to stay alive and do business. Drug cartels are increasingly controlling and destroying many more social and economic activities in Mexico.

Probably screwed someone over and they took the law into their own hands. It's wise to maintain good relations

[Travv]

I secure my Pacsafe to the toilet base. Wrap the steel cord around it then padlock it. Don't think the thief is going to want to carry a toilet base with a Pacsafe locked to it out of the hotel. But this works only for the Travelsafe variety. It has a long steel cord that some of the other Pacsafe types do not have. If you are really paranoid, you can spring $300 for a wireless tear gas alarm at Ubackoff dot com. Remote control switch to activate -- sounds a siren then releases a tear gas cloud to fill the room. . . Thieves will leave your room and stuff ASAP. . .

Just Curious. Do you simply wrap it around the pipe? If you do that then someone can just cut the bag with bolt clippers regardless what it is attached to. The good thing about having it in a suitcase is no one knows what it is. Many people have locked suitcases but not many people have locked money bags visible under the sink.

Maybe I misread how you hide it. Please explain. I'd like to have more options. The Pac Safe is somewhat limited.

Another tool I use is a Relator's key box that hangs on a doorknob. Although they are heavy for air travel.

[Dickus Maximus]

I rented a room from this guy Craig Harrison in Cabo a few years back. He owned a small hotel and bought / sold timeshare units.

He was a hard-ass kind of guy, pugnacious and hard to deal with. Local guys said he had been stabbed, his body weighed down with rocks and dumped in the ocean.

Probably screwed someone over and they took the law into their own hands. It's wise to maintain good relations in Mexico as the police are unlikely to be much help.

[Hargow20]

I have not seen the police shaking down people in the Zona lately. This because there is other people around. My guess is that the police tried to harass me because I was in a bit isolated. I will be taking Uber or taxi back to the border until things settle down.

I read a lot Tijuana news the police are in a steal everything from the gringo mode right now. There's TV news stories where the police took hundreds from gringos in cars, retired older people not mongers, and they told the people they have to strealndue to Mexico's economy with the covid. In other words they skipped the pretend ticket part, and just said pay me. Also on this forum alone a lot more stories. I'd say more police issues in last 3 months then the prior 4 years combined. With that said, I was bothered more 4 years ago. Last 3 years jnly bothered once. Never had money taken. I walked around zona alone and revolucion maybe 10 days in July August nobody bothered me.

[Captain Solo]

I can use Schwab mobile app to lock and unlock cards. Just unlock the card before use then relock it. Secured enough.

Jinxx pointed out an ATM inside the Calimax on Constitucion and calle2. Close enough.

[Dogers69]

Has anyone been seeing more shakedownls lately. ? Just wondering fi there has been a rise or if was just the victim of the random stop. ?

I read a lot Tijuana news the police are in a steal everything from the gringo mode right now. There's TV news stories where the police took hundreds from gringos in cars, retired older people not mongers, and they told the people they have to strealndue to Mexico's economy with the covid. In other words they skipped the pretend ticket part, and just said pay me. Also on this forum alone a lot more stories. I'd say more police issues in last 3 months then the prior 4 years combined. With that said, I was bothered more 4 years ago. Last 3 years jnly bothered once. Never had money taken. I walked around zona alone and revolucion maybe 10 days in July August nobody bothered me.

[Artisttyp]

I like to loop my Pacsafe up under the sink around the plumbing. Imagine a determined hotel staff trying to cut or weld thru the plumbing to get to the Pacsafe jajajaja. Take them awhile and look like complete idiots. One time in Pereira, Colombia I thought I hid about $100 in COP inside a book in my upscale hotel but they found it! If it ain't locked down poof gone, "No dar la papaya".

Just Curious. Do you simply wrap it around the pipe? If you do that then someone can just cut the bag with bolt clippers regardless what it is attached to. The good thing about having it in a suitcase is no one knows what it is. Many people have locked suitcases but not many people have locked money bags visible under the sink.

Maybe I misread how you hide it. Please explain. I'd like to have more options. The Pac Safe is somewhat limited.

Another tool I use is a Relator's key box that hangs on a doorknob. Although they are heavy for air travel.

[ScatManDoo]

"Need to find secured Atms in Tijuana. ".

I'm sorry to hear of all the debit thefts down there. I'm thinking folks are trying to pull from ATMs once inside TJ since they ration the amount of purchase before entering correct?

The better cambio rates of exchange (when acquiring pesos) seem usually to be at cambios on the United States side of the border. When needing hundreds of dollars worth of pesos (instead of thousands of dollars worth) the limiting of transaction size is usually also not a problem.

The reason I get pesos from Tijuana located ATMs is because I seem to get much better rates when using a Schwab debit card compared to any cambio on either side. Often more than 5% better exchange rates when ATM fees are removed, which Schwab does for Schwab One account holders.

I've used the HSBC freestanding ATM inside of Soriana grocery's pharmacy section for over a decade. Never a problem and I feel comfortable in the store's area where the ATM is located.

[Hargow20]

Has anyone been seeing more shakedownls lately. ? Just wondering fi there has been a rise or if was just the victim of the random stop. ?

[Cocr Brotheler]

I have been using a Pacsafe for years. As an added layer of protection I never have it visible. What I do is put in in a locked suitcase then lock the suitcase AND the PacSafe to wherever. That way Someone would need to rip apart the suitcase first before they were confronted with the PacSAfe. Not highly unlikely that it could be done but it presents more of a challenge to thieves and less time efficient from a grab and dash perspective.

There are also many other creative stash options available on Ebay or Etsy. It just takes time and putting some thought into it.

Another option is to use the Pacsafe IN A SAFE. Most safes have a master key which management has.....just a thought to ponder.

I like to loop my Pacsafe up under the sink around the plumbing. Imagine a determined hotel staff trying to cut or weld thru the plumbing to get to the Pacsafe jajajaja. Take them awhile and look like complete idiots. One time in Pereira, Colombia I thought I hid about $100 in COP inside a book in my upscale hotel but they found it! If it ain't locked down poof gone, "No dar la papaya".

[Cocr Brotheler]

"Need to find secured Atms in Tijuana. ".

I'm sorry to hear of all the debit thefts down there. I'm thinking folks are trying to pull from ATMs once inside TJ since they ration the amount of purchase before entering correct? Last time I exchanged money before enterring they limited me to $50 or $100 worth. Fine I just go to multiple cambios but never I even imagine trying to use my debit card down there even pre-COVID.

And with all the risk of tryin to use the debits is it overall better to exchange USD in the USA Banks even with lesser exchange versus the high amount of thefts if trying to pull in Tijuana?

[Captain Solo]

I rented a room from this guy Craig Harrison in Cabo a few years back. He owned a small hotel and bought / sold timeshare units.

He was a hard-ass kind of guy, pugnacious and hard to deal with. Local guys said he had been stabbed, his body weighed down with rocks and dumped in the ocean.

Expats living in Mexico there are lots of people hungry and desperate in Mexico due to the CoVid shutdown, therefore there is a steep increase in property crimes against wealthy expats.

Meanwhile, at the southern end of the Baja Peninsula, the Baja California Sur state prosecutor's office said the body of 65-year-old Craig Harrison was found on the beach in Cabo Pulmo Saturday evening. An autopsy determined that he had been stabbed in the chest before ending up in the ocean.

Harrison, a citizen of South Africa and Canada who settled in Mexico, had been missing since Aug. 29. According to his real estate website, Harrison settled in Cabo San Lucas in 1997 after working as an accountant and a wine importer in Canada.

He ran a vacation rental business in Cabo.

[Captain Solo]

2 missing US tourists found dead in well in northern Mexico.

By Associated press.

Published: September 8, 2020 at 4:48 am.

Updated: September 8, 2020 at 4:50 am.

Mexico city— Authorities have identified bodies found in a well in northern Mexico as two missing tourists from the United States, officials said Monday.

The Baja California state prosecutor's office said in a statement that the victims were identified as retirees Ian Hirschsohn and Kathy Harvey. Their disappearances were reported to authorities Sept. 2, the statement said.

Investigators searching an unpopulated area south of Ensenada spotted human remains at the bottom of the well the following day. They were recovered Friday and Saturday, the statement said.

No information regarding the cause of death or motive was provided. The case remains under investigation. Authorities did not provide their hometowns, but local media reported they both lived in southern California.

Meanwhile, at the southern end of the Baja Peninsula, the Baja California Sur state prosecutor's office said the body of 65-year-old Craig Harrison was found on the beach in Cabo Pulmo Saturday evening. An autopsy determined that he had been stabbed in the chest before ending up in the ocean.

Harrison, a citizen of South Africa and Canada who settled in Mexico, had been missing since Aug. 29. According to his real estate website, Harrison settled in Cabo San Lucas in 1997 after working as an accountant and a wine importer in Canada.

He ran a vacation rental business in Cabo.

[Captain Solo]

Jinxx,

That reminds me. When paying with your cards in Mexico, tell them to bring out their machine and charge it in front of you. If they take the card away they have ways to clone it. I am sure the guys at Azul's cloned my AMEX card. Someone in KC bought 4 orders from Pizza Huts worth over $400, which were later reversed.

The Schwab debit card can be programmed for specific countries and date spans, then lock / unlock quickly with only 1 switch. Schwab mobile app is easy to use. I will use that feature when I go out of the US.

[Captain Solo]

KingKielBasa.

I had a checking account with Chase, never used its debit card, but the account was hacked and perps withdrew about $700 in Dominican Rep.

I don't have time to deal with these problems so I just closed that account.