News

US State Department issues ATM warning for World Cup tourists

May 27, 2014

Finding a machine that will accept their card might not be the worst part of the ATM adventure for World Cup fans visiting Brazil next month. They could also be subject to a holdup or “quicknapping” by criminal gangs targeting ATM-using tourists.

“There are ferocious bandits here,” said Leonel Rossi, VP for international affairs at Brazil’s travel-agency association, in an interview with Bloomberg. “We recommend tourists get money at ATMs in hotels or malls and avoid getting cash in banks on the street.”

Since 2011, robberies at Brazil’s ATMs and bank branches have shot up 83 percent to a total of 2,944 in 2013, Bloomberg said. By contrast, previous World Cup hosts South Africa and Germany both recorded fewer robberies leading up to their events.

On its website, the U.S. State Department is advising citizens that “Robberies and ‘quicknappings’ outside of banks and ATMs occur regularly.”

Brazil is responding to the threat with plans to deploy almost 7,000 military police officers. Another 156 foreign-language-speaking officers will work around the city, the Bloomberg report said.