I see this crack/meth couple nearly every time I'm out walking around for the past year in the area of Yaxchilan, Tulum, Parque de las Palapas. They've approached me 3 times. The first time I didn't have money, but they seemed believable (same story they told TJ). The second time I remembered them and turned them down. The third time I confronted the guy after he approached me in Oxxo on Tulum, repeated his sob story back to him, and said I know your girlfriend is outside working the sidewalk. He got flustered and ran away. I've seen them scamming countless tourists, and I so much want to intervene, but have to admit I don't want to be between a meth addict and his/her money for more meth, especially when I run into them all the time. The woman, especially, has aged about 20 years in a year with the typical signs of meth abuse. I saw them yesterday and was alarmed that she looked 3 or 4 months pregnant (hopefully that's not the case). I'd love to run into them in view of the police in the booth in the park, and point them out to the police and tell them to pick them up, and if they don't find drugs, call immigration and ask for papers.
I got approached too many times already,first time a while ago and i fell for it ...was like oh poor people,they were like sayin they need to get out of cancun and all money got stolen ,etc .I got approached recently and when I heard the opening line to their lil pitch ,i just walked away,the woman looks like she has been doing a lot of drugs or alcohol or both,,oh and they dont even remember if they approached you already ,I ran into them three times this week on the way to the gym on Yaxchilanthey dont look like tourists anymore ,I dunno how they havent been thrown out of Mexico already...
Its possible that they have some Mexican relations, or at least have some documentation saying such..... there was a homeless America guy that was here for years, and the police picked him up several times for vagrancy only to let him go again.... turned out he had a grandparent who was Mexican.. and therefore he was never deported for that reason... so you never know....
MONDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 3pm The guy is outside WalMart right now peddling his story. Scruffy white t-shirt & black and white shorts
I ran into him yesterday in the Sams parking lot too. I told him we all know what he's doing and to go get a life. I tried to located him after i came out but couldn't find him. I had lots of time and was going to follow him and interrupt any more interactions he tried with people
scam Today, I went to the ATM at Santander bank in Plaza Hollywood. As I approached the bank, a tall American (or Canadian, I suppose) ran over to ask if I spoke English. Didn't appear to be on drugs and was clean and wearing typical guy clothes (polo-type shirt and cargo shorts). he has very short, black hair, dark eyes, a spider web tattoo on his upper arm (don't remember which side). not a bad looking guy. He claimed to be staying in Merida but that he was on bus back from Tulum and, when he arrived in Cancun to change buses, he realized someone had swiped his overnight bag with passport, money, etc. This story seemed fishy to me on many levels, plus the guy offered way too many details and didn't seem to have enough desperation in his tone for it to be true. Also, when I said I couldn't help him, he seemed irritated with me....NOT more desperate. Not sure why he got stranded at ADO terminal but was hanging out by Plaza Hollywood so, again, it just seemed fishy. Of course, I have no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or not, but wanted you guys to know that there MAY be a new guy on the scene...one that doesn't look like a crackhead.
You have all made me very paranoid. I walked to the Walmart @ Grand Plaza this afternoon, and was approached outside of my apartment my a Mexican man...middle aged...well dresses..perfect English asking for 150 pesos to take his dead Father to Ameri Med. THAT has totally freaked me out. I am unsure if he was telling the truth or not, but to be ask such a thing, where I live, is kind of scary.
A taxi is only 20 pesos! But seriously, why would you take someone who had died to a hospital? An expensive one at that. The scammers rely on us to be compassionate, but really they are just taking advantage of it. I mentioned Sam and the blood donor story above, Sam didnt comment further but hope he doesnt mind if I do. Sam was at Sam's club (how apt!) and was approached by someone desperately seeking blood donations for credits to help his dying relative to receive blood in return for the credits. We all know this can happen. Sam found out the details went along to the hospital to give his own blood only to discover that the hospital had never heard of the person the credits were destined for. The guy who asked him probably expected most people to turn him down, but relied on some of those to give him some money in sympathy - who may have done so to lessen their own guilt about not donating their blood. We get people ringing our doorbell almost daily with hard luck stories of the 'neighbour' just around the block who's husband just left her with three kids to bring up without an income, their dying mother, their sick wife et al et al. I used to give them a little money just to get rid of them, but now I just ignore them and go back inside. All part of adapting to living here.
