Grandfather, 67, Who Fell For $10M Phishing Scam Faces Life In Japanese Jail …

[naomi24]

…. after 'being tricked into smuggling drugs into the country in his luggage'

//His daughter Laura said her father has fallen for an email phishing scam and was persuaded to go to Mali to collect an inheritance, where drugs were hidden in his luggage without his knowledge, and was then convinced to fly to Japan to get his inheritance signed off and confirmed.//

She said // 'My dad has diabetes and rarely travels. He's never been further than Scarborough before and now he's accused of being an international drug dealer. //

Something doesn’t seem to ring true with this. A man who has never been further than Scarborough flies to Mali and then on to Japan without telling anyone? An old fool? What to make of it?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6754243/British-grandfather-67-fell-10m-phishing-scam-faces-life-Japanese-jail.html

[wolf63]

Sounds dodgy - he would have had to get a passport and if I won/inherited that sort of money I could never have kept it a secret from my family and friends.

[agchristie]

I agree,a very strange scenario which seems very out of character at face value.

There surely has to be much more to this that meets the eye...

[Ken4155]

If emails ever existed, i'm sure the police can retrieve them. If they do exist, then the guy's a gullible fool. If they don't, he's a willing drugs mule.

[aelmpvw]

i hate it when i have to fly to Mali to sort an inheritance out ...

[johnny.5]

Breaking Bad ?

[pansypotter]

Ive had similar scam emails but never asking to travel to a foreign country to collect money, they usually ask for funds to release said money and ones bank details.

[agchristie]

I think he must have some dodgy assushiates in Japan ;-)

[dannyk13]

I agree with wolf, how could he keep it a secret from his family. Did he just disappear without telling them he was going abroad? Seems a bit iffy to say the least.

[Peter Pedant]

blimey there are fools - damned fools and .....
readers of AB
no no sozza nigh - joke ! joke!

I wonder what the back story is.....

whammadol lady ( Plummer who was imprisoned for drug running tramadol ( "300 tabs is for my boy friend - oops I have just admitted to drug supplying to a third person!") has just been released in Egypt. cdnt get out of the country fast enough

[these ideas are not too complex are they?]

[naomi24]

danny, that's the thing that puzzles me. Why wouldn't he have told his family he was going?

[Peter Pedant]

// I think he must have some dodgy assushiates in Japan ;-)//
please boys and gurlz - there is unwarranted levity on this thread ! well I'm 67 and .... which number did he ring?

[ludwig]

Any way you look at this story, the man's a complete fool.

[hc4361]

I read this in the paper yesterday and felt so sad for this man, taking his version of events at face value. If he knew he was smuggling drugs I have no sympathy and he deserves everything he gets.

Years ago I was in the front office of a police station when an elderly couple came in, very excited but very worried. They had received a letter informing them they had won a lot of money and not to tell anyone. All they had to do was buy something to release the funds. They weren't at all suspicious, they were anxious because they told their neighbour and worried they wouldn't get their money.
They were distraught when they were told it was a scam.

[steg]

Seems like an awful lot of work (waiting for the 1 in a millionish person that would fall for scam etc) just to smuggle 2kg of speed

[naomi24]

hc4361, there’s no end to the gullibility of some people, but for a complete novice it’s no mean feat to board a plane in the UK, fly to Casablanca, take a connecting flight to Mali, then another to Japan. The journey in itself would be daunting for someone who’s never travelled.

steg, according to another report //[Japan] is also one of the biggest markets for illegal amphetamines, with a single gram worth more than £500. It makes Frank’s haul worth £1million//

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8527004/grandfather-drug-smuggling-japan-jail-email-scam/

[steg]

£500 a gram? Help ma boab probably about £10.00 a gram here

[Old_Geezer]

But it sounds probably much rarer there.

[-Talbot-]

Hard to believe he did this off his own bat and never mentioned it to his family.
I wonder how much encouragement they gave him?

[goodgoalie]

There must be way more to this than we are being told. 'Never been further than Scarborough' yet he flies to Mali and on to Japan? Oh yeah. And what has the fact that he's a grandfather got to do with anything? Is that meant to make us think he's more worthy of our sympathy?

[calmck]

Maybe waiting for someone to set up “go fund me” and use the money for something else