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A man was captured in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality in Havana, after being caught while scamming in private businesses by impersonating the municipal director of Hygiene and Epidemiology.
The arrest was made possible thanks to the direct action of the neighborhood residents, with subsequent support from agents of the Revolutionary National Police (PNR), according to a report on their Facebook page by Pedro Lizardo Garcés Escalona, president of the “Rampa” People’s Council in Vedado.
"Captured by the community with the support of PNR agents, the individual shown in the photo, who had been engaged in scamming at various non-state management points in our municipality, posing as the municipal director of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the Plaza de la Revolución municipality," stated the report.
The publication included a photograph of the alleged scammer—who was wearing a black t-shirt with the inscription "PARIS" and a matching cap—possibly taken inside one of the affected businesses, where shelves with bottles and refrigeration equipment can be seen. The source did not disclose the name of the arrested individual.
With the aim of obtaining money fraudulently, the detained individual operated in businesses within the non-state sector of the municipality, taking advantage of the fear that self-employed individuals, owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, and other private ventures have regarding inspections and penalties from the authorities.
The notice urged the victims of the suspect to report to the PNR Unit located at Zapata and C, in Vedado, to file complaints about their respective cases.
This modus operandi is not new in Cuba. In October 2023, another individual was arrested in Havana for using false documentation to impersonate an inspector from the Provincial Integrated Supervision and Control Directorate (DISC) to defraud individuals. This case came to light after a victim reported it at the end of September that year.
Similar cases have also been reported in other provinces. In Holguín, an individual was arrested for pretending to be a Transportation inspector and illegally collecting fares in public.
This type of scam thrives in a context where state inspections of private businesses are frequent and real. Between February 11 and 17, inspectors from the Municipal Administration Council of Plaza de la Revolución visited 11 non-state management forms, nine self-employed workers, three small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), and one state entity, and imposed 12 fines ranging from 1,500 to 8,000 Cuban pesos for violations such as unposted prices, prices above the regulated levels, and lack of hygiene.
The pressure of actual oversight lends credibility to those who present themselves as officials to private business owners, creating an environment conducive for scammers to exploit the fears of the self-employed regarding the imposition of fines and other penalties.
The non-state sector in Cuba has grown significantly in recent years, with new regulations in 2026 that decentralize the approval of non-state economic actors to local municipalities, further expanding the universe of businesses vulnerable to this type of fraud.
Other forms of fraud, such as those carried out through digital platforms, have also seen a rapid increase in recent times, amidst the severe economic crisis in the country.
At the beginning of this month, a Cuban reported being a victim of a bank transfer scam, using one of the most common forms of fraud on the island: digital identity theft.
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