It’s one phone call a grandparent never wants to receive.

Their grandchild — or at least someone who claims to be — calls them in a panic reporting to be in jail in a foreign country and asking for several thousands dollars to be wired to Canada or somewhere else for bond.

But authorities say it’s an old scam that a 90-year-old Lawrence woman fell victim to last week when she wired more than $18,000 to Canada because she thought she was helping her grandson.

“We always tell people to be very vigilant of who is calling them to make sure it’s real,” said Sgt. Matt Sarna, a Lawrence police spokesman.

Sarna said it appeared to be a common scam that often targets the elderly, and police encourage residents to always speak to other family members to try to corroborate what the caller is telling them.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said this type of scam was reported in the area about a year ago, but he says it’s one national consumer protection experts often see. The scam artists do their best to research people typically through social networking sites or stolen records.

The fake grandchild also asks the victim to promise secrecy claiming they either don’t want his or her parents to find out or that he or she is embarrassed.

But Branson said it’s always best to independently verify the information.

“If someone is in custody somewhere, that’s typically not something that they’re going to keep a secret. That’s probably something that you need help from other family members,” he said.

He recommends asking the caller questions to catch them off guard.

“These scam artists are typically pretty good, but if you ask them about a pet or a sibling that they don’t have, a kind of trick question, they’re not going to be able to answer those things,” he said.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, requests to wire money overseas are common in scams.

“The moment you wire the money it’s gone,” Branson said. “It’s almost untraceable. It’s the same as handing somebody cash. You’re not going to get that money back.”