Warning about credit cards usage in atms, and clean shoes
It is not a good idea to use foreign credit cards to buy anything in Rio, they can be easily cloned, my friend some years ago paid his dinner in Leblon in expensive restaurant, later it was used for 4000 euros.
I use my cards so that I have them only when I walk to the atm, then I walk back to apartment and leave card and most of the money there.
I had read that cards in atm's in Rio internationational airport get often cloned, so I did not take money from there.
Instead I used Bradesco atm in beginning of Nossa S. Copacabana, in beginning of the street.
There is security guys in office time, but in evening and free days not, many atm machines in the row.
On a day of the Brasil-Colombia game, I went there with three credit cards to take money, no security guy because free day.
First card did not worked although had been worked before. Later I found out that bank had blocked it because it had been used in Brasil (by me). I told them to keep it blocked until my trip is over.
Second card, I tried to get money, but I should have chosed "Credit", instead of "Debit". It did not give me money. Two days later somebody tried to use clone of the card same way, choosing "Debit", and not getting money either. I canceled the card with bank.
Third card worked, I took 2* 800 reais. Two days later somebody had taken totally 3000 reais with cloned card, in seven different transactions.
Bank of the cloned card called me and we closed the card, I hope that bank will pay me money back, I will see later.
I went to Bradesco next office day, thinking that maybe they want to see videos who have been using the atm, they were not interested at all.
Neither was me willing to spend my vacation fighting with Bradesco bureauchy, I hope that the bank where my card is from, just pay me later.
So those thieves got me after all, even though I tried to be so careful. I am planning to use Citibank atms now on, they have more security I hope?
I have got my card cloned once in Venezuela, this is more mongering related story. I tried to get working girl inside my hotel. Manager decided that no, his personal decision. So I used all my icho de puta words for him, he could not say back since I was a customer. So in the morning when I paid my hotel bill, he cloned the card, and it was used for 3000 dollars in Venezuela.
I was living in Brasil that time, and it was brasilian company card. I did not have to pay that 3000 dollards, but unfortunately nobody in bank knew how to cancel that transaction, no matter how many times and how many people called. So I had to pay late payment of 300 dollars, everybody were just saying that better pay it or maybe I have to pay more later.
That is Brasil for you, everybody who have lived in Brasil have their own bank stories to tell, also me I have two others more expensive bank stories.
Otherwise, security in Rio has been fine, for example I have been walking in Copacapana and Ipanema beach street with my shoes on, and nobody has yet put dirt on shoes and then offered to do shoe cleaning.
Before, years earlier, they did it me once twice in same day, sometimes even for my sandals. I never found out how they managed to put that shit looking dirt to my shoes, if I saw shoe cleaner I started to watch around me, but still somehow they managed to do it. Very difficult to take that stuff out, and could ruin your shoes.
The World Cup of Prostitution
great articles:
[url]http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/12/the-world-cup-of-prostitution-how-the-soccer-tourney-is-affecting-brazil-s-sex-workers.html[/url]
the police crackdown on crime also extended to prostitution in order to, as the district attorney stated, "contribute to changing (rio's) soiled image. " thousands of sex websites were reportedly targeted, and brazil's leftist president, dilma rousseff, took to twitter to denounce "sexual tourism" during the world cup.
[url]http://www.citylab.com/crime/2014/06/brazils-ugly-world-cup-sex-worker-crackdown/371996/[/url]
rio de janeiro – sex workers in the brazilian city of niterói, just across guanabara bay from rio de janeiro, say that 100 of their colleagues were illegally arrested, robbed, and some of them even raped by police in late may.
it's an acceleration of violence against sex workers by police with orders to tidy up rio's massive sex industry before the 2014 world cup kicks off june 12.
Pfffooou... What a relief !!!
I'm surprised there ain't any reports on the fact that Brazilians are partying, sambaing and drinking again, as if they'd won the World Cup!
It would seem that Brazil is in Germany's debt and have thanked the gods they've been bailed them out and they can "save face" again with their neighbors to the south. What would have most definitely been an [B]embarrassment of epic proportions[/B] and by far worse than losing 7-1 to Germany, would have been classified in Brazilian history as the ultimate shame and defeat, had their much hated neighbors, won the World Cup on their home soil. Brazilians would have NEVER HEARD THE END OF THAT ONE.
So I checked into things in Copa with a friend and sure enough, I have it on good authority, that every time some argentinos walk pass, the Brazilians would suddenly just burst into song. Mostly the argentines just walk on with head down, but occasionally try to give as good as they get, but they just can't. The sheer joy of the Brazilians out do them every time. As one Brazilian friend of his put it, "ver os argentinos chorando não tem preço". é isso aí.
All way too funny!
