A British tourist was scammed into paying nearly £1,500 for a kebab on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, police said on Tuesday. The scammer was arrested after allegedly manipulating a payment terminal to overcharge the victim 1,000-fold.
The tourist paid 10,000 reais (£1,480) for a meat skewer that should have cost 10 reais (£1.50). The suspect and an accomplice are accused of tampering with the card machine to inflate the price.
The incident is part of a series of beachside scams in Rio. Recent cases include two Argentinian tourists charged 7,000 reais (£1,000) for açaí, a Colombian visitor paying 2,500 reais (£400) for a caipirinha, and an Argentine woman charged 20,000 reais (£3,000) for a corn on the cob.
Patricia Alemany, head of Rio's tourist police, said her team is working to capture those behind the crimes, blaming a lack of government oversight for creating a 'disorderly' atmosphere on the beaches.
Despite the scams, Rio remains a popular destination, with a record 9 million visitors in 2025, boosted by major concerts like Lady Gaga's show last May and an upcoming Shakira concert.
