It's unclear how many people received an email from State Sen. Pam Roach Monday morning indicating she'd had her bag stolen while in the Philippines and needed money. For good measure, it seems, we at Patch got two. The body of the email was as follows:
Good morning,
I Hope you get this on time, I made a trip to Manila(Philippines) and had my bag stolen from me with my passport and personal effects therein. The embassy has just issued me a temporary passport but I have to pay for a ticket and settle my hotel bills with the Manager.
I have made contact with my bank but it would take me 3-5 working days to access funds in my account, the bad news is my flight will be leaving very soon but i am having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let me leave until i settle the bills, I need your help/LOAN financially and I promise to make the refund once i get back home, you are my last resort and hope, Please let me know if i can count on you and i need you to keep checking your email because it's the only way i can reach you.
Roach's legislative assistant Cheryl Marshall confirmed the email was a scam and suspects the breach occurred via the senator's Facebook page.
The Seattle Times spoke with Roach's husband, Jim, who said she was safe and in Olympia today.
See more information from the U.S. State Department regarding international financial scams. The department also offers tips for what to do if you or a loved one do indeed find yourself a victim of a crime while overseas.
