FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (AP) -- Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin wants to make one thing clear: whatever you may have heard over email, he's not in London and he doesn't need $1,400.
Goodwin says he spent much of Friday fielding phone calls from concerned friends who received emails from his account saying he and his family were stranded in London after being robbed and needed money to return to the U.S.
The mayor's email account was apparently hacked by scammers, who requested money to be wired to an address in the British capital. Goodwin says it took more than two hours of work with a technician to get his account restored.
The hoax is a common ploy by hackers who try to take advantage of a victim's friends by sending out pleas for help.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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