North Dakotans have been swindled out of at least $32,000 in the last six months through a scam that preys on the emotions and ties between grandparent and grandchild.

It's loosely referred to as the "grandparent scam"and targets people in that age bracket; most recently, a Mandan couple was taken for more than $6,000, including wire transfer fees, thinking they were saving a grandson from the embarrassment of going to court in Canada.

A male scammer called the target, crying about being pulled over in Canada for drunken driving. Don't tell my parents, the fake grandkid said, babbling and manipulating the conversation to take on a trustworthy, familiar identity. Please just send me some money so Ican get out, he told the victim.

Within days, another scammer called, claiming to be a Canadian authority, saying the kid needed fees and fines paid before he could leave the country and get home to Fargo, or Mandan, or wherever he was supposedly from.

According to Mandan police reports, the scammer got about $2,900 each time. The target paid more in wire service fees and was ultimately out more than $6,000.

Paul Leingang, deputy chief officer of Mandan Police Department, said the couple began receiving even more harassing phone calls, and they ultimately notified the police.

Unfortunately, this isn't new in North Dakota. From this scam alone, at least nine people in the state have lost money sent through wire services to "grandparent scammers"in the last six months, said Parrell Grossman, head of the consumer division for the North Dakota Attorney General's Office. And that's just what's reported to them. Grossman estimated phenomenal losses in the state that are never reported.

"I think you would find that it's fairly common in both Montana and Minnesota,"Grossman said, commenting on where else this scam may be most prevalent. Because of the states' proximities to the Canadian border, it's a believable ruse. "It's hard to track these things. Once the money is gone, it's impossible."

Leingang said they were able to determine that the receiving wire service account was a Canadian one. Beyond that, it's difficult to find any more information. It's nearly impossible to get the money back, both Leingang and Grossman said.

Both expressed extreme disgust and frustration with the scam, which preys on victims' family ties, on their age, on the likelihood that they may not hear very well and are trusting.

"Ithink the problem is, the emotional appeal plays a significant part of this scam,"Grossman said. "Here's a grandparent thinking they have this granddaughter or grandson … it almost seems like they can't get to this location quickly enough to wire that money."

Lt. Randy Ziegler with the Bismarck Police Department said they haven't seen a similar scam in the city in about a year, but that they were familiar with it.

"I don't think you should ever wire money if you don't know who the person exactly is,"he said. "If there's any doubt, err on the side of caution."

Unfortunately, caution is often thrown to the wind when a grandchild's legal life is on the line. Grossman emphasized Ziegler's statement, saying just don't wire money to Canada, ever.

Leingang agreed.

"Ijust can't hammer home hard enough putting money on a wire system,"he said. "… if you've been a victim once, there's a very good chance that you'll be a victim later."

There are other scams, of course. Lottery scams, sweepstakes, mystery shopping, online scams and more phone cams targeting elderly victims. The grandparents' scam has evolved and has many forms, including one with a supposed granddaughter saying she got stopped at the border for not paying taxes on her shopping purchases, or from a man saying he was caught without a fishing license and was going to jail.

The scammers take information from the conversation and turn it around, muffling their voices or taking advantage of poor hearing.

"They're very good at playing off of the responses,"Leingang said.

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)