On Thursday last week, some unusual messages ticked into the group conversation on WhatsApp. “I need money. It is urgent. Please be kind. I have to pay the guy for the sunbed”, began the messages from my Argentinian mother-in-law in the 70s. This seemed strange. Her sons called her at once. “I’m talking on another phone, so I can’t pick it up,” she wrote further. Describe the picture* (visible to the public) Mother-in-law never asks for money. Now she needed someone to transfer money to her right away. Photo: Screenshot WhatsApp In reality, she was talking to a man she thought was helping her return an incorrectly ordered sun lounger from the Argentinian online shopping giant Mercado Libre, which is the largest of its kind in Latin America. The man politely asked her not to answer the phone because it would interrupt the return process. Meanwhile, the messages continued: “I have been kidnapped in my own house”, wrote the mother-in-law. “They’re going to cut off my fingers.” Hoax kidnappings The thought of a kidnapped mother-in-law without fingers was shocking to say the least. Several of us called each other before it became clear that the mother-in-law was neither kidnapped nor injured. Kidnappings for money happened more often in Argentina in the 90s. Mauricio Macri, who later became president but was then known as the son of one of Argentina’s most powerful traders, was kidnapped for 12 days. Former president Mauricio Macri was kidnapped for 12 days in the 90s, long before he became president. The kidnappers demanded a large sum of dollars from his wealthy family. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko / AP Even then, Argentina was in a social and economic crisis which led to the country going bankrupt in 2001. Since then, trick-kidnappings became the norm. Family members were called on landlines and told that their loved ones had been kidnapped, even though it was not true. Money had to be paid within a short time so that they would not be killed. The mother-in-law has also experienced it in her time, but then she knew that her son was abroad and it could not be true. She just hung up. Now the thugs were tricking her around. Didn’t know if the messages The thieves, who were possibly in a criminal call center elsewhere in the country, had taken control of the mother-in-law’s WhatsApp while they were talking. A lot of creepy messages came in on the family group chat on WhatsApp. Photo: AFP At the same time as they chatted with her, they sent threatening messages to her contact list. They emptied both the online bank and the account linked to Mercado Libre. A new account was created and a loan was taken out. In addition, they obtained information about where she lived and that she lived alone. When she later, shocked and annoyed, reported the incident to the police, there were three other people in the waiting room. They had all been subjected to the same thing. One of them, like her, had also spoken to a nice man with a special Spanish dialect. 52.9 percent of the population in Messi’s country of birth are now poor. Bag snatching and fraud are common in the big cities. Photo: Luis ROBAYO / AFP Alarming increase In phishing, or cyberphishing in Norwegian, the criminals fish for sensitive information in order to commit fraud. They can pretend to be the Tax Administration, the bank or, as in this case, an online shopping site. This type of online fraud is increasing alarmingly, Argentine newspapers write. It also does so in the rest of the world. In Argentina, the scope has increased in parallel with the digitization of services that occurred during the Covid pandemic. In this type of cyber theft, the criminals potentially get away with far greater sums than in a normal burglary. Besides, it’s easier not to get caught. It is in a completely different league to the Argentine bird dropping method, which is directed at tourists on the streets. Suddenly, the chosen one gets a foul-smelling liquid on his shoulder, and while a friendly person approaches and offers to wipe away the “bird poo”, other assistants grab bags, sacks and suitcases before the victim understands what is happening. “Motochorro” is a separate word for motorcycle thieves, they grab bags and drive off. And then you have specialists in burglaries in so-called “gated communities”, fenced neighborhoods with security guards around the clock. If you’re taking public transport, it’s best to do like the rest of the Argentines: keep your rucksack on your stomach, nobody takes the chance of carrying it unattended on your back. Restless region The rule is that one must avoid relaxing. Be alert. Crime and violence are a large part of many people’s everyday lives, not only in Argentina, but throughout the region. Police on the streets to prevent street violence in Mexico City this week. The country struggles with powerful drug cartels and organized violence. Photo: Gustavo Graf / Reuters It also affects the economy, productivity, growth and investment. According to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), crime costs 3.4 percent of the gross national product throughout Latin America, which corresponds to almost 80 percent of the education budget. Latin America and the Caribbean account for 8 percent of the world’s population, but as much as 30 percent of murders in the world. Crime also affects the trust people have in the state institutions. Ex-president sentenced to six years in prison Speaking of which, while his mother-in-law was defrauded for small sums of money, Argentina’s ex-president Cristina Kirchner was again sentenced to six years in prison for a billion-dollar fraud in the Court of Appeal. Kirchner is the great symbol of Kirchnerism, the centre-left workers’ party, and she is currently working both on an appeal to the Supreme Court and on becoming the new presidential candidate. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met her supporters after she was sentenced to six years in prison in the Argentinian Court of Appeal this week. According to the verdict, as president she gave tender rights to build roads in Patagonia to a businessman, who then gave benefits to companies owned by her family. Only half of the roads were completed even though the state paid for them to be made. Photo: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP During her government until 2015, tender contracts were awarded to build new roads that were never completed. The man who got the contracts in turn gave benefits to firms linked to Kirchner’s family, according to the non-binding verdict. Most hated president ever And then you have her successor from the same party, ex-president Alberto Fernández, who sat in the Pink House until December last year, while Kirchner was vice-president. He is now the most hated president ever. Fernández is also under investigation for corruption, after he allegedly ordered that all public bodies had to take out insurance with a company at a premium. The agreements were not entered into directly, but via payments to his friend, who was also his secretary’s husband. Ex-president Alberto Fernadéz and ex-wife Fabiola Yanez on the red carpet in Los Angeles in 2022. Now his ex-wife has reported him for abuse and violence. Several photos of a battered Yanez have been shown in Argentine media. Photo: Chandan KHANNA / AFP When the police went through the secretary’s phone, they also found photos of the ex-president’s disgraced wife. Fernández is now also being investigated for mistreatment of his ex-wife, who was also pregnant with his child at the time. Distrust and corrupt politicians paved the way for the incumbent chainsaw president Javier Milei from the far right. Recently he said out loud that he wanted to put “the last nail in the coffin of Kirchnerism with Cristina Kirchner inside”. Argentina’s President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei (th) were this week in the USA and met President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Milei recently said he wants to see the opposition politician Cristina Kirchner in Argentina in a coffin and he has taken away her ex-presidential pension after she was again convicted of corruption. Photo: The Argentine Presidential Office / AFP Trust disappears quickly For the mother-in-law, it helped to make several rounds at the bank. In the end, the employees agreed to replace the amount the cyber thieves stole last week. In the letter of thanks she then wrote, she said that she had lost confidence in the bank she has faithfully used for decades. But now, after they took responsibility, trust was back. Published 21.11.2024, at 17.40
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Fraud and crime are commonplace in Argentina – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
