Influencer YosStop Reports Assault in Playa del Carmen, Details Distraction Scam

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mexican influencer YosStop says she and her family fell victim to an assault by costumed individuals while vacationing in this popular tourist destination, describing a distraction-based scam that left them feeling vulnerable.

YosStop, whose real name is Yael Hernández, recounted the incident in a social media video, saying it occurred about a month ago as they left a restaurant. “We were assaulted in Playa del Carmen,” she said. “This wasn’t your typical robbery as you might imagine.”

According to her account, two people dressed as Spider-Man and The Mask approached her family after her husband, Gerardo González, pointed them out to their daughter. “They came over and in one second they were right there,” she said.

The influencer described how the situation escalated quickly. “Suddenly both of them had grabbed me by the arms — both guys in costumes — and I was like: What’s going on?” she recalled. “They were directing themselves at my daughter and Gerardo to distract them, telling Gerardo: ‘Yes, take a photo.'”

YosStop said the individuals “manipulated us like puppets” before releasing her and grabbing her husband instead. “We entered a stupid lapse. I don’t know when I stopped thinking this was an assault — all this happened in about two minutes,” she explained.

The tone shifted when the costumed men demanded money, according to YosStop. “Well, what’s up? Pay me, and chip in with whatever you like,” she quoted them as saying. When asked how much they wanted, they responded: “Well, something to share.”

Her husband offered 50 pesos (about $2.50), which YosStop said the men treated as “the most miserable thing that has ever happened to them in this life.” They complained it wasn’t enough, prompting González to add another 20 pesos.

“Then it’s no longer what one wants and likes — they forced us to take photos, well they coerced us to take photos because of course there’s always the option to say ‘Let me go,’ but in that moment it was very strange because you do feel vulnerable when you have a small child,” YosStop said.

The influencer described the men’s complete attitude change “from acting funny to extortionist assailants.” She called the experience “totally ugly” and said it left them with “a very bad taste in our mouths.”

YosStop warned others about similar scams in tourist destinations. “It’s a trap for tourists. Obviously they ‘touristed’ us and made fools of us,” she said. “But precisely I think if it happens to us, who are from here, who already know the score, obviously that’s why they keep doing it — because it keeps happening and people keep falling for it.”

She urged travelers to take precautions when strangers approach physically in public spaces. “Conclusion: be careful in tourist destinations whenever someone approaches you, touches you, or something — the best thing is to remove yourself,” YosStop advised. “If we see these types of characters on the street or like that, from far away is better.”