Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says he's asked Western Union and MoneyGram to do more to help prevent scams involving wire transfers.

Stenehjem says the companies agreed earlier to fund a national consumer awareness program and provide frequent warnings and training to prevent wire transfer fraud.

North Dakota authorities have reported calls in which older residents are told a grandchild or another family member is in legal trouble in Canada and urgently needs money wired there.

Stenehjem said his office has fielded more than a dozen calls in the past few days and is looking into how scammers get such information as grandchildren's names.

"It appears they're targeting North Dakota," he said.

State consumer protection director Parrell Grossman said the stories vary but the request is the same: to get the victim to wire money out of the country and "straight into the scam artist's pocket."

One of the victims was Jane Bologna, an 89-year-old widow in Fargo, who got a phone call last Thursday from someone who said he was her grandson, Michael. He asked her to wire $2,900 to help him get out of jail in Canada.

"I was emotionally concerned, and you don't think when you're emotional," Bologna told The Forum.

Of course, she would help him, she said. But the real Michael was at his office in Minnesota, not in Canada.

"Folks need to slow down and really evaluate if the request is legitimate," Fargo Police Sgt. Jeff Skuza said.

Bologna said she was too worried to slow down after she got the call. But she hopes sharing her story will help others.