The dangers of Quito

We got the most incredibly terrifying lecture ever today at orientation. They got one of the bodyguards/security experts from the US embassy to come and talk to us and it was all fine at first, your standard bit about purse snatching, how to hold your bags on buses, what side of the sidewalk to walk on, hilarious because of the horrible background images this guy's intern had stuck in the slides... Then we got into some crazy stuff.

Ever heard of scopolamine? It's this drug that makes you act like you have demetia, i.e., it leaves you conscious and able to respond to people but you aren't aware of what you're saying and doing, so people will take all your money or make you withdraw everything you have from an ATM or have you take them to your house. To other people, everything looks fine, because you're still walking and talking, you just have no idea what you're doing.

The kicker is this: It's absurdly easy to administer. A person need only inhale a little bit or have it come in contact with their skin to be affected. One of the ways the embassy security team has seen in administered was dissolved in a perfume sampler bottle at a kiosk in the mall. When a rich-looking lady walked past, the girl behind the counter sprayed it at her saying "Smell this, smell this!" When she inhaled a little bit of the vapors, she began to see stars and sat down, then a guy came up to her and just had her hand him her wallet, jewelry, etc... She called the embassy when she recovered and they found security video footage of the whole thing.

In another instance, guys dressed as policemen in one of the squares in the historical district would come up to a young woman walking alone and grab her arm, saying that they needed to ask her some questions. They were wearing gloves that had some scopolamine powder on them and when it came into contact with the woman's arm, it dissolved into her bloodstream and she was led off, raped, and robbed. In another episode of dermal transmission, one of the embassy ladies was walking away from an ATM when someone just brushed against her and she started to see stars... She had barely taken a few steps when she blacked out. It works that fast.

Apparently the most common method of administration is for someone, often an old person, to come up and shove a map/address in your face and ask for directions. The paper has some of the powder on it and just having it close to your face causes you to inhale enough to be affected. We were told not to accept any pamphlets or handouts on the street, but honestly, when anybody just brushing against you could be drugging you, they don't need to tell me twice to avoid people on the street...

The hour finished off with some gruesome descriptions of other forms of deception and crime here... For instance, the famous "condiment scam", where someone spills something on you and then distracts you by wiping it off while someone steals your stuff, has been upgraded in the historical district to a poop-throwing scam. Apparently they shake up dog poop in water bottles and throw it all over tourists. Then while the tourists are freaking out, the thieves either offer to help clean it up or just grab their bags and run.

Then there are the bank tellers who let accomplices outside know how much people have withdrawn so that they can know who to accost. Apparently one guy took out like $12000 and had the bank's security guys escort him to his car, but the robbers were waiting for them and there was a shoot-out in the parking lot. Peace Corps also lost $45000 this way last year. And there are the taxi drivers who have accomplices jump in the cab with you and take your ATM cards around to all the machines in town before driving you home and looting your house.

We also asked about robberies on buses. Apparently guys just come up to people randomly with knives and demand their stuff, but even if other people see it, they won't do anything to stop it because the criminals are professionals who work the same route all the time and nobody wants to face repercussions.

On a side note, the bus we took to campus today was so full that we at first had to ride hanging out the back door.

Anyway, that's all for now. If I remember any more horrifying stories from today's lecture, I'll add them later.