On The Beach Blog

This desperate E-mail arrived Friday morning from the Middle East:

"I'm with family on vacation in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

(Wow! Semi-retirement has been very good to Bryan.)

"We are in trouble, we were mugged last night in an alley by a gang of thugs on our way back from shopping..."

(Ah ha! That is what his brother, who's in law enforce­ment, would call "a clue." Camel races or a round of golf? Perhaps. But shopping? Not our Bryan!)

"One of them had a knife poking my neck and everything we had including my phone, credit cards were all stolen. Quite honestly it was beyond a dreadful experience."

("...beyond a dreadful experience?" Definitely not our Bryan!)

Still I had to check with Bryan directly to see if he was aware that the contacts list on his cell' 'phone had been cracked.

Yes, he was, but was still in the dark about exactly what had occurred must less what to do about it.

We had discussions and he went off to try to remedy the problem with his provider.

This sort of scam is a variation of an old scheme to part a chunk of money from your personal exchequer, and few with any sense would offer up any cents to the not-so-enterprising miscreants.

(There are a number of indigenous Websites [cf Dubai Government, Dubai Financial Services Authority and Dubai Scams] warning the unwary.)

As parts of the UAE practice Shariah Law, the punishment for theft, according to the Qur'an, is still amputation of a hand, so this could be a very risky proposition for the scammer should he or she be caught.

Still, it's a pretty sleazy way to get Foreign Aid from the United States.