I Was Extorted By The Police In Mexico

Last month, one of my best friends, Leah V, and I went on a weeklong vacation to Mexico. The trip was mostly amazing! I went snorkeling for the first time, swam in a cave, shot some fire content, and even got another tattoo. But as y’all know, things aren’t always roses and butterflies. We hopped around to a few different cities over the week, and our night in Tulum was unfortunately very scary and traumatic. We were extorted in Mexico and I want to share exactly what happened to us so other travelers can be safe and prepared when planning a trip.

First of all, we didn’t stay at a hotel or resort in Tulum. We booked an Airbnb because it was a beautiful, luxurious apartment with a private rooftop pool for a good price. And, as content creators, we knew it would be great for shooting. Well, our Airbnb was WAY more secluded than we thought it would be. The address we had initially didn’t give the exact location. There was a whole ordeal of us trying to contact the Airbnb host and actually find the property. It was off rocky, dirt roads in the literal jungle and there were no lights and very few people over there. We should have followed our guts and not stayed, but it did look exactly like the pictures, so we wanted to give it a chance. We dropped off our stuff, shot some content, and drove to our dinner reservations in our rental car, which was only about 10-15 minutes away.

Well, after dinner we were driving back to the Airbnb and I was going slow with my blinker on to turn onto our street because it was super dark. As I made a legal lefthand turn, a person on a motor scooter was impatient and tried to cut around us. They slammed into my driver’s side door. Glass shattered all over me and I was bleeding. Leah screamed. Thank the Lord that the person was alive and okay, but they were definitely injured — they literally flew over our car. We waited for the police to arrive in shock. After telling them what happened, they told us to call our insurance. We had all of our rental car paperwork on us and we had paid for insurance, but for some reason it wasn’t clearly listed in our papers. Leah called the rental car place repeatedly and the man on the phone couldn’t tell us the insurance name or number! He just said it was “a guy” and he would try to get ahold of him. It was all downhill from there.

The police started getting impatient and told us we had to go to the hospital with them while the rental place tried to get an insurance guy to come out. Please note: You are NOT supposed to leave the scene of the accident without the insurance assessing it first. But, neither of us speak Spanish and we had no choice but to listen to the police officer. At the hospital, they repeatedly threatened to detain us if we didn’t give them more and more money. They told me I had to pay for the person’s (who caused the accident) ambulance cost and hospital bills. Luckily, I was able to use my emergency credit card because that was the only way I would have been able to cover it. It was that or go to JAIL.

Over $1,000 USD later, the police officer still wouldn’t let me leave. On top of that, he offered to give me a lower price if my friend left me. Obviously, she was not going to do that — if she did, I would have disappeared for sure. The officer made suggestive comments to me throughout the night and even tried to brush glass off of me at one point. I felt so exposed and horrified. The officer also forced me to sign a FALSE report stating that the accident was my fault. He said if I didn’t claim responsibility for it then, yup, we would be detained. We asked both the officer and the hospital staff for copies of the bills, police report, a ticket etc. and they wouldn’t give us ANY documents. They just kept telling us, “Yes, of course, hold on.” Leah even tried to secretly call the US embassy from the hospital bathroom. They told her that no one was able to come out and that we should just let them extort us. We were two American women afraid for our lives and they were zero help.

After being extorted for hours in the middle of the night, the police officer still had my license and wouldn’t give it back. First, the officer said I would need to give him 5,000 Mexican pesos in cash to get my license back and be able to leave. I didn’t have that, I only had my credit card. It’s illegal for officers to ask you for cash, so I knew he wouldn’t accept a card in this instance. They were only able to get the credit card money from me under the guise of the hospital expenses. Since I didn’t have it, he said in order to get my license back, I would have to go to the police station in the morning and pay them money for a ticket. So, I asked for the ticket so I could leave and he still never wrote me one. He just kept stalling.

Finally, the mysterious insurance guy shows up at the hospital. The police and hospital staff told us to LIE to the insurance guy and say the accident was our fault! Again, it 100% was not! We told the insurance guy we were scared to be honest with him and he allowed us to drive back to our Airbnb to give him the full story (it was almost 5 a.m. at this point). I left my license with the officer and Leah drove the busted rental car back to the Airbnb with me in the passenger seat and the insurance guy following behind us. We were so relieved to get out of there, but we were extremely anxious and worried about someone following us.

While giving the insurance guy our real statement about the accident, he informed us that our Airbnb was in gang territory and it was not a safe area. I was freaking out, but Leah logically explained to me that we would be in more danger if we left the Airbnb and drove around in our busted car at night. So, we got a couple hours of sleep and as soon as there was daylight, we packed our stuff, I hailed down a taxi from the side of the road, and got tf out of Tulum! I did not go back for my license. There was no way we would willingly go be around that corrupt officer again. We left the car at the Airbnb and let the car rental place know where they could pick it up from, since it was not in good enough condition for us to drive around. The rental car place then charged my card another $3,000 (without my authorization). Bringing my traumatic night in Tulum to a total of over $4,000 USD.

Luckily, I was able to call American Express afterwards and explain to them how we were extorted in Mexico and the money was taken against my will. The customer service was amazing and they helped me resolve all of the fraudulent charges. 🙏🏽 Money comes and goes so I’m very grateful that me and Leah were not detained, kidnapped, physically assaulted, or injured more than some minor cuts from the accident. We really didn’t want this bad experience to ruin our entire Mexico experience, so we ended up going back to our friend’s place in Playa Del Carmen (bless her and her driver who really helped and supported us). And then we spent our last couple days in Cancun, like we originally planned. I was still shaken up, but Cancun was a couple hours away from Tulum and we had booked a nice hotel in a touristy area.

Unfortunately, since I’ve shared my story on social media, I have had multiple other people tell me about similar situations that happened to them or their friends — including ones where American tourists were actually put in jail for days. Let me just add that I am NOT one for fear mongering or discouraging anyone from exploring new places and cultures. Mexico is still a very beautiful place and plenty of people travel there with no issues! I just want everyone, and especially women who are traveling alone or in a small group, to be aware and alert.

5 Things I Learned After Getting Extorted in Mexico

1. Avoid driving in countries you’re not familiar with, if possible.
   I do feel like all of this would have been avoided if we stuck to taking taxis. Although it can be a more expensive option and it doesn’t mean that you 100% won’t get extorted in Mexico or other places, I think driving can make you more of a target. From now on, I plan on sticking to taxis, Ubers, shuttles, and other car services when traveling in unfamiliar countries.
2. Don’t stay in secluded areas.
   Although we didn’t plan on being in a secluded area, we should have followed our gut right away and found new accommodations. If you’re new to an area (whether that’s in another country or the states) it’s generally safer to stay in tourist-friendly areas. More people will likely speak English and they’ll be used to accommodating foreigners. I’m not saying you should never explore more off the beaten path places! But there are often ways to do that in new places that don’t involving sleeping in remote locations. Try looking into tour guides and travel groups for unique experiences.
3. Have emergency money.
   Thank goodness I had my American Express card with thousands of dollars available to me on it. Leah would have stepped in with her card if I didn’t have it, but if neither of us were able to pay, we would be in jail. Period. I could have also potentially got my license back if I had enough cash on me, but then I wouldn’t have been able to report that as fraud. The cash would have been gone forever. So, I think it’s good to have a true emergency credit card on you and some amount of cash that may be able to help you, but also won’t break you if it gets taken. And if you do have cash, try to tuck it away somewhere that’s not obvious. Because if you’re getting extorted and they see the cash, they will 100% be taking all of it.
4. Don’t give anyone your passport.
   Although I really didn’t want to leave my license with the police, I was able to because I still had my passport. Without your passport it will be MUCH more difficult for you to leave the country and get back home when you planned. The only stress that came with getting my license taken was the fear of identity theft — which you can freeze your credit in order to prevent. And the fact that I had to go to the DMV when I got back home to get a replacement. But, I was able to just renew it and avoid having to go back again in a year when it would have expired.
5. Stick together and remain calm.
   And to add to this, travel with people you trust to have your back. If Leah would have left me, I would be a goner. She was very brave and direct when dealing with the situation, which helped prevent them from taking advantage of me any further than they already did. We both remained calm and didn’t panic (at least not on the outside), which also helped us keep a clear mind in a dangerous situation. I am VERY grateful that I was with Leah in this situation.

I hope this was helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions about getting extorted in Mexico in the comments or you can reach out via my contact page.

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