Were the Cops involved in this scam?

This letter to the editor appeared in this week's Guadalajara Reporter (Page 4, July 24-30). Read it all, then you decide, "were the cops involed in the scam?"

Home Opinion Letters Scam alert
Scam alert
Friday, July 23 2010 16:52 Barbara C. Prince

Dear Sir,

Scams, scams, scams. You read about them, you hear stories about them and think they could never happen to you. Well, let me tell you – they can! Last Saturday afternoon at Costco in Guadalajara, my friend and I were sitting outside at the picnic tables drinking a soda after doing our shopping, when a well-dressed Mexican man pointed to the floor by our table.

Naturally we both leaned over to see what he was pointing at. At that moment a young woman with long dark hair sitting behind me must have reached into my purse and stolen my wallet with everything in it, including my bank debit cards, FM-3 and Mexican driver’s license.

When I discovered what had happened I went to security and reported the incident, spending at least ten minutes trying to describe the perpetrators but clearly they had gone.

I then talked with an attentive and courteous Costco manager and called my husband in Chapala so he could report the theft to our bank.

That call was recorded at 1:29 p.m. My friend and I headed back to Chapala around 2 p.m. and by the time we reached the “Legion” to unload supplies, my husband had already received a phone call from a Guadalajara municipal police officer saying he had found my credentials at the Minerva Glorieta.

I had checked out of Costco using my bank debit card at 12:41 p.m. Two charges were made at Home Depot at 1:19 p.m. and 1:21 p.m., cleaning out our bank account.

We later met with the policeman in Guadalajara to retrieve my credentials. One of his colleagues said, “there are security cameras here so be careful when you pay us.” They were paid generously for their trouble and I believe they were part of the scam. How many officers driving the streets of Guadalajara would look in the bushes at glorietas to find ID’s and credentials?

Everyone should be aware of their surroundings and always be on the alert. It can happen to you.

Barbara C. Prince,

Riberas del Pilar