Inmates scam people from jail. This has been known for some time but little can be done about it, well little because Costa Rica is unwilling to take away access to phones from prisoners. Authorities have focused more on alerting the public and sharing tips to avoid becoming a victim.
An app made in Costa Rica is among those used in the scams. The criminals are able to make phone calls and open an app that gets them access to data of their victims. The app that allows this remote access was meant to help people fix issues with phones and computers but has fallen into the wrong hands.
Inmates have a lot of time on their hands and are easily getting illegal cell phones, chargers, chips and other such items. A cat was even trained to get phones into a prison. By watching YouTube tutorials one can learn to make any app quickly. One app was made to prank call people but it is now used to make people think they are being called from a bank because the bank’s phone number appears on the caller ID.
Authorities explain that there is little chance of getting the stolen money back because it is withdrawn at once. The best thing we can do is avoid giving out any information over the phone and go to banks in person to take care of matters.
