Anti-Theft Tips: Debit Cards

Nicole  | 

As you may have been following, my purse was stolen from a restaurant in Playa del Carmen, Mexico early April. Read about the nearly finished outcome here.

As I’ve been chatting with friends regarding the circumstances, I’ve discovered some interesting tips from them that I’ll be sharing.

When my purse was stolen, my Charles Schwab debit card was stolen. As someone from the United States, it’s uncommon that we use debit cards to pay for point of sale (POS) purchases at stores or online. It didn’t even cross my mind that my debit card could have been used by the thieves outside of an ATM. Here I was obliviously thinking that my debit card was safe… wrong!

Photo: thriftytraveler.com

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The thieves made $500 in online purchases using my debit card as POS before I was able to get the card shut off (in case you’re thinking I took too long, my phone was also stolen so I couldn’t log into the apps to shut things down immediately).

After chatting with my friend from the UK about this, she told me a tip on how she keeps her debit cards safe.

For cards that are solely used as a debit card for money from an ATM or bank, she keeps the cards locked on the bank website/app.

I thought, well… what about any direct deposits incoming or auto debits outgoing? When I researched it on the apps, I found that locking your card does not affect anything except using the card for ATM transactions and POS purchases. Everything else flows as normal.

Charles Schwab debit card lock information

So I have now locked my 3 debit cards. I also no longer carry them unless I am making a specific trip to the bank. (Americans- we need to get out of the habit of carrying our entire livelihood in a purse or wallet, it’s not intelligent and a real pain in the ass if it gets stolen.)

Now I just have to remember to unlock them from the website or app when I take a trip to the ATM. Slight inconvenience? Maybe. Worth the effort and protection? I think so.

What other tips do you have for protecting your belongings in the event of a theft?

Temporary Residence in Mexico

Nicole  | 

During covid, a new Regularization program was created to help tourists who were stuck in Mexico due to covid restrictions from their/other countries to fast-track residency.

Guidelines for this program have changed and changed again and then changed again over the past year that I’ve been following it. So it’s best to check with your local immigration specialist or lawyer on current guidelines.

Pros and Cons of the Regularization Program

Pros: You don’t need to prove financials (no income or bank statements). You don’t need to leave Mexico to apply. You get 4 years of temporary residency immediately (no renewal needed)

Cons: You have to stay in Mexico during the entire duration of your FMM. You have to stay in Mexico on an expired FMM – which is a possible risk of being detained and deported. Guidelines change frequently. The program can end at ANY time.

Requirements

For me, it required two things:
1) 1+ visits to Mexico between 2015(?) and 2020. I had two stamps on my passport in 2017 and 2019.
2) An expired 180-day FMM (Forma Migratoria Múltiple)

Choosing a Lawyer

My FMM expired March 18. At the beginning of February, I began reaching out to immigration specialists and lawyers in my area – Playa del Carmen, as INM appointments were out 1.5-2 months at that point.

It’s entirely possible to complete this process without a lawyer. For ease of process, I decided paying a lawyer to handle everything on my behalf was well worth the money.

You can search and ask in expat or digital nomad Facebook groups for immigration specials and lawyer recommendations in your area.

I decided to work with Teresa Rubí Mendiola, a well-known immigration lawyer in Playa del Carmen. I sent her a copy of my passport, two previous visits stamps, FMM, and a water bill.

She was a bit under the weather that week, so it took us a little time to get my appointment scheduled. When I inquired, appts were around the last week in March. One week later, the first appt was available April 18.

I took it – knowing I would need to be illegal in the country for a full month. It was rumored that if you were stopped by INM and showed a screenshot of your appt, you would be okay – but I don’t trust that personally.

(As of April 29, 2022 – the INM appointment system is still shut down.)

I laid low the month that I was on my expired FMM. I stayed in town and limited activities. I avoided collectivos and ADO bus.

Appointment Day

On April 18, I arrived to my lawyer’s office in the morning. Filled out some paperwork and was sent over to CIBanco with 3 sheets to direct deposit cash to pay fees to the government for residency (just shy of $15,000 pesos). Returned with receipts to the lawyer’s office and filled out more paperwork. Paid my lawyer fee in cash ($5,000 pesos).

Headed to the INM office for my 12pm appointment. It was VERY busy – since the computer system has been down, people have to go to the office to set up appointments.

Immigration Office in Playa del Carmen, MX
Photo: immigrationtomexico.com

(The Playa del Carmen Immigration Office – What You Need to Know)

A group of 5 of us had appointments at 12pm and 12:30pm. They checked us in and let us sit inside. Not long after 12, the first group was called up to the desk. Our lawyer navigated the entire process for us, bouncing around to each agent and checking on the process.

Three of us were interviewed about why we were applying for residency. Two of us were not asked any questions (I was one of them). Just a few signatures and my paperwork was done.

We then waited for fingerprints and pictures. The fingerprint and photo process took about 10 minutes, my card was printed out and handed to me.

Freedom to walk around without worry, was so worth it!

Stolen Purse in Mexico, it’s a wrap (nearly)

Nicole  | 

On Saturday April 2, a friend took me to dinner for my birthday in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. My purse was stolen while I was thoroughly enjoying my jerk chicken and macaroni & cheese.

It has been 22 days since the theft and today – finally – things are nearly back to normal.

I did lose about $200 that I’ve never seen again, as well as a new homemade face mask from Merida that I adored, a debit card, credit card and my US drivers license. More than anything, I lost a lot of time and energy (and tears) on this dilemma.

You can read about my experiences with how Capital One, Charles Schwab, Apple and AT&T helped and/or hurt me during this. (Links coming soon)

One of the worst parts of this was dealing with two-factor authentication for many of my accounts. I have been blocked from accessing my Capital One, Paypal, Venmo, Wise (slightly different) and Pen Fed accounts because I didn’t have my phone to give a code to authenticate my identity.

Every other company that I am of client of (Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Chase, AT&T, Apple), all had alternative options to authenticate- either through email, verifying questions, PIN code, etc. But these five… especially Capital One and Paypal, were AWFUL to deal with. More on that in another post.

After posting my situation on Facebook the day after it occurred, my friend Danielle offered to clear an old iPhone X for me. My Aunt Pam offered to ship it along with a new AT&T chip (no, you cannot get a US AT&T chip in Mexico, believe me- I tried). My intention was to have my aunt mail the package directly to my house here in Mexico – seems simple and normal, right?

I learned differently and just in time. In Mexico, it is highly advised not to have electronics shipped from other countries. It’s common that they will get stopped at customs for taxes. If that happens, you should choose to send your items back to the original recipient or kiss them goodbye. Another alternative is to hire a customs broker in advance, but I hadn’t known about this until later.

Luckily for me, my friend Liz was heading to Miami so I asked her if she would mind if I sent the package there for her to bring back. She agreed. The package safely arrived in Miami and Liz brought it safely back to Mexico for me.

I picked up my phone and SIM from her this morning and spent the afternoon activating my new phone with AT&T and getting back into all of my accounts. Such a pain.

With AT&T, It took a bit of time since my number had been suspended, but they did make it simple to get my phone back up and running. The agent John was very patient and helpful. In about 20 minutes, iCloud was setup and phone service running as normal. Whatsapp messages from the past 3 weeks were delivered when I signed into the app. All text messages (SMS, MMS and iMessage) from that time are gone forever. Adios.