Cozumel ATM warning

[Brules]

So for those who say use bank ATMs only in the banks, which ones and where are they?

---------- Post added June 6th, 2013 at 12:56 PM ----------

Too bad. Coz used to be such low crime place to visit. Cash and travelers checks were king and Cozumelians took great pride in being honest and helpful to us divers. I miss the old Cozumel.

Comes with the cruise ship territory......

 

[mrokern]

Depressing that more of Mexico is going that way. :-(

FWIW, just got back from Puerto Vallarta and throughout a week of shopping local, eating local, and taking taxis everywhere we didn't have a single bad or even slightly sketchy incident of any type. Maybe it's the last oasis...

 

[njones259]

I like to use the ATM's at the banks on 30th street,I have been using them for years and have had no problem.

 

[cvchief]

Never use the stand alone atms- i either go to chedraui or mega. The stand alone ATM's that dispense US dollars are a total ripoff. You pay the exchange rate twice. I had a freind use on and to get out $300 US it charged $60 dollars in fees.

Better yet, go to one attached to a BANK. If you have a BOA card, Santander ATM is free and has a good rate on Pesos. While I have used them without a problem, someone reported problems with the Mega atms once. I even heard of problems with the one at the airport.

 

[MMM]

That's even lamer. Why would Mega and Chedraui participate in the fraud? What's keeping the banks honest?

It's not that they are participating in fraud...just the unwitting accomplices of the guys who swoop in and set up skimming machines. I watched a video on YouTube once on how it is done and it is super fast and they don't usually leave the skimmers in place for very long before moving onto their next target. Presumably that security guy standing in front of the machines at Mega deters them but who knows? I have not had any problems at Mega or Chedraui but the bank on the corner of 30 and 11 is even closer to my house than Mega is and I've never had any problems there either.

 

[Mossman]

It's not that they are participating in fraud...just the unwitting accomplices of the guys who swoop in and set up skimming machines. I watched a video on YouTube once on how it is done and it is super fast and they don't usually leave the skimmers in place for very long before moving onto their next target. Presumably that security guy standing in front of the machines at Mega deters them but who knows? I have not had any problems at Mega or Chedraui but the bank on the corner of 30 and 11 is even closer to my house than Mega is and I've never had any problems there either.

OK, that makes more sense. I was thinking the ATMs themselves were fraudulent. In that case, there's nothing really preventing this from happening at the bank ATMs, unless their security is significantly better than the markets'.

 

[judydivescoz]

I have used the ATM at Sandander on 10 for years without issue. I can get 6000 pesos each time. In the past 3 years our account has been compromised from scammers in the US twice. Once it was even at my local bank branch. That said, I have no issue using my ATM card at Santander on 10.

 

[chillyinCanada]

How can we know what to look for as far as a skimmer goes? Wouldn't the slot reader be sticking out too far or something odd?

 

[Ron Lee]

How can we know what to look for as far as a skimmer goes? Wouldn't the slot reader be sticking out too far or something odd?

Google ATM skimmers and you will see plenty of info. From some of the pictures, I may not have detected a problem. In some cases, there may be video to catch your PIN as it is entered. I always cover my PIN entering hand and use deceptive pad strokes. Perhaps there are systems that record pin entry as well.

I have a new bank but my previous one would reimburse fraudulent use of my ATM card. To add another level of protection, I got a second ATM card that is ties to another account with limited funds in it.

 

[Mossman]

I have a new bank but my previous one would reimburse fraudulent use of my ATM card. To add another level of protection, I got a second ATM card that is ties to another account with limited funds in it.

I just use a credit card. Seems like the easiest way to prevent fraud from affecting my trip.