Strath sailor says reports of his Phillipines mugging are greatly-exaggerated

A Badenoch sailing instructor has told the Strathy that reports of his mugging in the Phillipines have been greatly exaggerated.

In fact Charlie Brecknell said he is "safe and sound" and not in desperate need of money from anyone.

The scourge of internet hacking and hijacking targeted the globe-trotter when an SOS went out to all his email contacts.

It stated: "I do hope you get this fast, I came down to Philippines with my family for a short vacation, unfortunately we got mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed.

"They stole our cash, credit cards and cellphones, but thank God we still have our lives and passports. The hotel manager has been unhelpful to us for reasons I don’t know and I’m writing to you from a local library.

"I’ve reported the situation to the police and after writing down some statements, I’ve not heard from them. I contacted the consulate and all I keep hearing is that they will get back to me.

"Our return flight leaves soon, I need you to help me out with a quick loan to settle our bills here so we can get back home.

"I’ll refund the money as soon as we return home safely.

"We look forward to hearing from you!"

Mr Brecknell was contacted at Loch Insh Sailing School, where he instructs locals and tourists young and old, and he was flabbergasted at the news of his troubles over on the other side of the world.

He said: "I’ve now checked all this out and discovered that the scam appears to have originated in the United States. The criminals behind it just hijack private email accounts and try it on.

"I know now that they wiped out my entire contacts files - it’s gone completely blank - so that they can contact people around the world purporting to be me.

"It’s a real pain, having to set up a whole new account and start from scratch, all over again, while reassuring people that I’m okay and not begging for their money!"