You’re a grandparent. Suddenly, you get a phone call or an email from someone who identifies himself as your grandson. He says he’s in trouble. But is it really him?

This is an example of what’s come to be known as “the grandparent scam” by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – where scammers often seek out the elderly, taking advantage of their love and concern for their grandchildren.

According to the FBI, through the grandparent scam, the caller impersonates a family member of the victim and concocts a phony scenario suggesting the relative is in distress, often late at night or in the early morning when people are often thinking less clearly.

A local senior citizen who wishes to remain anonymous came into The Oxford Leader to warn readers of a similar call she, and others in her life, had recently received.

The woman told this reporter she received a call from a young man who claimed to be her grandson last Sunday. The man told her “Hi, this is your grandson. I’m in trouble and I need money.”

“He sounded (like he was) in his 20s or so with no accent,” the woman told this reporter. “I am in such close contact with my kids all the time that I would have known if something had happened.”

Although the woman said she quickly hung up on the caller and did not offer him any information, the following day at 3 a.m., she said a relative of hers received a similar call.

“The caller told her her granddaughter, who they called by name, was ill and needed money,” the woman told this reporter.

Shortly after this, a friend of the woman, who lives in Lake Orion, also received call.

According to the FBI, although the grandparent scam has been reported since 2008, recently scam artists have become more sophisticated in their efforts. Thanks to the Internet and social networking sites, a criminal can sometimes uncover personal information about their targets, which makes the impersonations more believable.

“I don’t know what they’re doing, but it didn’t work on me,” the woman said. “I just wanted to warn others of this new scam.”

According to the FBI, the best ways to protect yourself from this scam is by resisting the pressure to act quickly and by contacting your grandchild or another family member first to determine whether or not the call is legitimate.

The FBI also recommends to never wire money based on a request made over the phone or email, especially overseas, as there will be no way to get the money back.