None of this can be true....but....

[Highstool]

I have a new aquaintance. Practically the first time I had an actual conversation with him, he told me how he grew up in another country, but his family had to make a moonlight flit because of their involvement with the mob, when he was 14yo. His uncle eventually went to prison for attempting to murder his father.

This meant his sister had to give up a promising sporting career where she was already competing internationally.

His accent is "correct" for where he lives now because he was deaf until he was in his early 20s, when he had an implant fitted.

He cousin plays for a Premiership FC.

His Grandad is a very famous decorated war hero etc etc

Loads of really far fetched stories, that if they were true, he surely wouldn't have told someone he's only just met.

But it all checks out with stories in mainstream newspapers when you Google.

So is he pretending to be someone else? I just don't know why he'd be telling me!

I’m confused why you are confused if it checks out what’s the issue. People have all sorts of upbringings. Mine would probably sound crazy to someone that had a so called normal upbringing.

Because it doesn't make sense that he wants to tell everyone, when there are the parts of the world he and his family still can't travel to.

i think immigrants often have interesting back grounds. It’s not usually Susan the receptionist who lives in a 3 bed semi in Bracknell who moves across the world.

i met some fascinating Russians, swedes and Romanians at uni, and they’re still friends now, but a person on the street wouldn’t believe their upbringings

what difference does that make really? You aren’t going to be able to do anything about his family travelling or otherwise. He’s not scared of some random brit

because it happened in another country, maybe years ago he is safe now.

It doesn't make a difference to me. It's just curious.

You seemed to indicate that you didn’t understand why he was so open when there are “countries he still can’t travel to”- but why wouldn’t he be open? you’re not border control or the mafia are you? Who are you going to tell that he’s here?

Nothing anywhere near so interesting as your acquaintance, but if I told you some of the history of my family you probably wouldn't believe it - a family of 7 siblings born in the 1930s who all have the same unmarried mother where 1 and 2 have the same father, 3's father is 1&2's brother, number 4 (different father again) was in the same school year as number 3 as they were 11 months different in age...the family emigrated to Aus and left number 1 behind with grandparents who put him in boarding school and migrated to the US; number 2 was given to a cousin who couldn't have children who basically treated him like a slave. Father of younger children's brother was a Russian spy (part of the Cambridge 5) who also worked on cracking the Enigma machine in WW2.

One thing in isolation might be believable but all of them put together happening to the same small circle of people just sound ridiculously far fetched.

Does he have one of the hearing implants OP?

It sounds true, he's probably been through stages where he's felt ashamed or secretive and now realises that none of this is any reflection on him, why not be honest?

The war hero grandad is fairly common especially when it sounds like they have the kind of genetics that make them quick and good at sports. High energy sporty people would succeed in environments like war, competitive sport and football. If the local path to success was the mob, maybe there too.

That's the point. He doesn't know who I am.

He has a lot of hair, but not that I've noticed.

it sounds like he's telling lots ppl, not just you, OP?
Do you fancy him, does he fancy you?

🤣 He's 20 years younger than me, and yes exactly, he doesn't know who any of us are or where his stories might end up.

Some people just overshare. On balance sounds more likely he is honest just has no boundaries

I didn't ask if he was 20 yrs younger than you...

Do you think he's in danger because he talks about his personal history? Who would harm him for it?

With that history, maybe he has awkward social skills and maybe he over-shares. You make him sound charming not annoying, though. Maybe this is how he has learnt to get people's attention long enough to make friends. I don't see where he's done something harmful to anyone since OP met him.

Bet he didn’t think they’d end up on MN!

OP, bluntly, you’re probably fairly unlikely to be a Mafia informant from this man’s country of origin.

An Israeli former workmate once confided that her father, who was in Mossad, had had some kind of operation go wrong when she was ten, made the whole family pack a suitcase in the middle of the night and take the first flight out, and that none of them had been back to Israel since, even for immediate family funerals. He would never say more, but she had some ideas about what the botched operation had been.. But I’m not that likely to be phoning the Mossad grass line, am I?

I didn't ask if he was 20 yrs younger than you...

But that's the answer to whether they fancy each other. Maybe you fancy men 20 years younger but OP doesn't so she was saying a clear no to that.

I don’t understand this thread.

You have checked and verified what he has told you. So why are you saying “none of this can be true.”

I wonder if it’s a mixture. I’m not sure how true is the story about deafness because of speech development point PPs mentioned but others do sound ok.
If he was from third world country to travel here and to attract mob or someone attention he would need to be from rich/ influential family. If his parents were just farm workers they would just be killed and no one would notice. So if he was from rich / influential family he and others would have opportunities for sport career, his grandad would be someone prominent etc .
He chats because UK is safe from his point of view. He also might have some degree of ND which is not mutually exclusive with being from other country and having rich parents.

Some people just do live interesting lives....

I think it's Walter.

You say it all checks out. Maybe he's happy to be in a country where people can say contentious things without fear of getting dragged from their beds in the middle of the night. Maybe you have a kind face and he wants to tell you stuff. Sees you as an auntie?! Sounds as if he's trying to make sense of it all.

well OP, if he gets knocked off soon you will know it was for running his mouth off (isn’t that what they say in the movies)