Costa Rica is indeed one of the most beautiful countries to live in. The cost of living is substantially cheaper and there is no lack on beautiful sceneries and stunning ladies as well. Maybe you are considering buying a property and getting a Tica girlfriend as well. But don’t get caught with your pants down. There are also opportunists and scammers that would bleed you dry of your money if you give them an opening.
Make no mistake there is some violent crime in Costa Rica, but what are very prominent are malevolent groups operating within the country that operate various scams such as land scams. How does it work? The conman or group of conmen would offer to sell you a piece of property which they say is being targeted for development. Of course these people would say that if you buy it now, your investment would give you large gains in the long run once developers start buying the properties.
However, these development projects are actually non-existent, or the property being put up for sale does not even have a proper title. If the victim does not live in Costa Rica and all funds were wired, then there’s little he or she can do to get his or her money back, since Costa Rican law regarding the matter is so outdated it is essentially legal to scam someone as long as a wire transfer was used for the funds, and the mark is a foreigner. Worst case scenario when you try to take legal action? The VICTIM gets sued by the scammer for “defamation of character” and “libel.”
So what should you do to avoid getting in this no-win situation? Make multiple legal consults before buying property in Costa Rica. If the “seller” is discouraging you to do so and can’t produce a bona fide title, then turn around, don’t look back, and congratulate yourself for not being tricked out of your hard-earned cash.
The “chica” scam is another popular grift being pulled by Costa Rican “working girls.” The modus operandi works this way. The girl, who of course wants to stop earning money this way and settle down, will feed the mark a sob story. If the victim bites and asks how much money is needed to get out of that line of work, then the girl will start off with a reasonable amount, say $1000 monthly.
But this is only for the first couple of months. Over time, the girl will be adding more and more costs, say to relocate to a safer neighborhood, for school fees, etc. While this may sound reasonable, it’s not. Most of the time, the girl is milking multiple victims, all of them not based onCosta Rica. So how does one avoid being had? If you’re do not live inCosta Rica, then don’t get a Costa Rican girlfriend. Period.
