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/Sounds like "pah" (as in "park") + "KEH" (as in "kept") + "teh" (as in "ten") + "chee" (as in "cheek") + "LEH" (as in "let") + "noh" (as in "note")/

Meaning

A classic street scam where someone approaches you with a package supposedly full of cash they just "found" and convinces you to put up your own money as a sign of good faith, only to disappear with your real cash while you're left holding worthless paper. It's one of the oldest cons in Latin America.

Examples

Be careful downtown, my uncle got hit with the paquete chileno scam and lost everything he had on him.

How did you fall for the paquete chileno? That scam is older than my grandma.

Regional synonyms

Loose change: coins and small bills you carry in your pocket for exact payments. In the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, suelto is what you need when a parking meter only takes coins or when you have nothing but a large bill and the store cannot break it.