It was late on a Thursday morning when a stranger called Laura Paris to tell her she was being robbed.
Or rather, he asked if she knew anyone named Solís, whose bank account had just received a $2,133.85 transfer from Paris' account.
The stranger, a bank teller at the Banco Nacional branch in San José's Barrio México, had thought it odd that a scruffy-looking guy like Solís would have so much money to withdraw.
But by the time bank security sprang into action and stopped Solís, it was far too late: Over the course of the past 24 hours, Paris' account had been drained completely through a series of 14 other transfers to five different people.
A total of $21,726.48, the operating capital for her auto repair business — gone.
Paris' case is one of at least 400 similar ones that have taken place this year, thefts that total up to more than $2 million.
But she and victims like her have almost no chance of getting their money back. The Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) is chronically understaffed. Banco Nacional and other public banks say they are legally not allowed to offer reimbursements unless ordered to by a judge.
That's not good enough for Paris, her husband and their business partner. They say they want to sue Banco Nacional |
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