A 3,000-Won Kebab Costs 3 Million: Brazil in Uproar Over Tourist Scams

A scammer who charged a British tourist around 2.96 million won for a single kebab skewer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been apprehended. This method involves manipulating the card payment terminal to inflate prices, and similar incidents have recently occurred around local beaches.

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According to the British daily The Guardian on the 15th (local time), Rio police arrested a man at Copacabana Beach for overcharging foreign tourists.

The man, along with an accomplice, is accused of manipulating the card terminal’s amount to induce the victim to pay a much higher amount than the actual price. It was reported that the victim ended up paying 10,000 reais (about 2.96 million won) for a kebab that originally cost only 10 reais (about 3,000 won).

This scam is cited as one of the recurring methods at the Rio beaches. In recent months, there have been reports that two Argentine tourists were charged about 7,000 reais (about 2.07 million won) for two acai drinks, and a Colombian tourist was made to pay 2,500 reais (about 740,000 won) for a single cocktail.

There was even a case where a customer paid 20,000 reais (about 5.93 million won) for a single corn cob spread with margarine. The actual price of the food was only 20 reais (about 5,930 won). The victim, a woman from Argentina, reportedly said, "I don't understand Portuguese numbers. I can't speak Portuguese."

Local authorities believe that the lack of management and supervision around the beaches has contributed to these crimes. Patricia Alemani, head of the Rio tourist police, said in an interview with local media, "We are conducting intensive crackdowns to catch those behind the crimes occurring at Copacabana and Ipanema beaches."

Nevertheless, despite such incidents, tourism demand in Brazil continues to rise. Large-scale beach concerts and other recent events have boosted tourist inflows, and last year, the number of foreign visitors to Brazil reached about 9 million, marking an all-time high. This is a significant increase compared to 6.7 million in 2024.

Experts analyze that, alongside the recovery of travel demand after COVID-19, exchange rate changes in some countries have led to Brazil being perceived as a relatively affordable travel destination, contributing to the increase in tourists.

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