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E-mailed plea for cash called a scam

Huntington residents be warned: An e-mail is circulating claiming that the leader of a local organization is in need of money because she is stuck in the United Kingdom.

But, in fact, she hasn’t left town.

Huntington Police Chief Tom Emely says the e-mail is a scam, and anyone who receives it should not send money.

Mandy Reber, director of the Boys & Girls Club of Huntington County is the focus of the e-mail scam, which claims she’s stranded overseas when, in fact, she’s in Huntington. Cory Reber, Mandy’s husband, confirmed her whereabouts, saying that she was at their home the morning of Friday, Nov. 13. He called the e-mail crooks “smooth.”

Reber’s co-workers at the club also confirmed her location, and said that everyone on her contact list received an e-mail.

The e-mail plea claims Reber is stuck in Surrey and misplaced her wallet on the way to her hotel. The e-mail goes on to say that she needs a loan of 1,450 British pounds (about $2,400 American dollars) to make the hotel payment, and her belongings and passport are being held by hotel management. It concludes with a promise of a refund upon return to the United States. In the e-mail’s signature, which appears to be Reber’s official Boys & Girls Club signature, the fax number and office number of the club are switched.

Emely says that scams like this usually occur by phone. Anyone who comes across claims such as these should let the Indiana Attorney General know, Emely says, because that office deals with Internet scams.