Audrey Fowler is telling everyone she knows about the scam. "We're getting over it now, but it was terrible — to play on a grandparent's emotions like that."

Fowler, who is in her 70s, was at lunch with friends last Thursday when the first call came. Her husband, still frail after a long bout with illness, answered the phone. The caller identified himself as their 19-year-old grandson and said he was vacationing in Canada and got into trouble.

"He said he had a couple of drinks and he had a wreck with a car. He told my husband he was in jail and needed him to wire money for bail."

When Fowler's husband told him to call his parents, the caller said, "I can't do that! Please! Send me the money!"

After two more desperate phone calls from the man, $1,500 was wired to an address in Canada.

When Fowler got home and heard what happened, it didn't sound right to her. She checked with her son and his wife: her grandson was home with them, not traveling abroad. Besides, they reminded her, he knows he can always come to them. And he doesn't drink. She immediately called Western Union and put a stop on the cash transfer. She also made a police report. The Fowlers were lucky, but worry others will fall victim.

"I take a water exercise class and I've told all the ladies to be aware of this," Fowler said. "Most grandparents would do this in a heartbeat if they believed they were helping their grandchild."

The "grandparent scam" has made its way across several Mainland states before reaching Hawai'i. The Minnesota attorney general issued a detailed description of how it works:

"The consumer receives a phone call initiated with a phrase like, 'Hi Grandma/Grandpa! Do you know who this is?' or something similar. If the consumer responds with a name, the con artist (uses the name) to pose as the consumer's grandchild. The 'grandchild' describes some type of urgent trouble, often in a foreign country, and begs the grandparent to immediately wire money ... The involvement of a family member, an immediate need for money and a request for secrecy are the hallmarks of this scam."

There is also the element of persistence.

On Friday, the phone at the Fowlers' Makakilo home rang again. It was the guy saying he was their grandson. He said he didn't get the money and asked them to send it again.