GEORGETOWN, S.C. —  Imagine getting a phone call and when you answer a frantic voice says he is your grandson and has just been arrested.

He says he needs money immediately to make bail so he can be released.

People — mainly senior citizens — have been getting those worrisome calls in droves recently. But, they are not real.

It’s a scam to bilk caring individuals out of thousands of dollars, just like it did a Pawleys Island man recently.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, an 80-year-old man from Ellington Road sent more than $2,100 to one of the scam artists last week after receiving one of the calls.

The man told deputies he received a call March 3 from someone who identified himself as Henry Wood, an officer with the Vancouver, Canada Police Department.

The “officer” said the man’s grandson had been arrested for driving under the influence and he would have to send $2,152 via Western Union to bail him out.

To make the call even more convincing, another voice was then heard on the phone saying “grandpa” before the call was disconnected.

The victim said he then drove to Bi-Lo in Pawleys Island and wired the requested money and paid the $175 wiring fee.

Later, the man received a second call from a man claiming to be his grandson’s lawyer who said he needed to wire more cash so his grandson could retrieve his car which, the caller claimed, had been towed.

The victim said he then called his son and was informed his grandson was at home and had not been to Canada.

Authorities say beware

The “Grandparent Scam,” as it’s called, is not new but has popped up recently in this area.

According to an MSNBC report, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre received 128 complaints about this scam in 2007. That number has increased each year since.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Neil Johnson said so far there have been very few cases of the scam reported locally but feels it could increase if people are not cautious.

He urges anyone who receives such a call to confirm the information before sending any money.

He suggests the receiver of the call place a call back to the police department where the arrest supposedly occurred to make verification or, in the case of a grandchild, call the person’s parents.

He also said it should send up a red flag if someone calls on behalf of the relative.

“I know here we would never call a family member to tell them about bond amounts. It is up to the person charged to do that,” he said.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com