The Vermont State Police would like to remind citizens to be cautious of phone, Internet and mail scams. There are many phone scams out there but recently area seniors have been targeted by the "Grandchild In Trouble" phone scam.

The scam generally works as follows: The scammer calls the senior pretending to be the senior's grandchild. They tell the grandparent that they are in trouble and need money. Commonly, the scammer will claim to have been in a car accident or have been arrested and are afraid to tell their parents. The grandparent will be asked to wire the money, either by Western Union, MoneyGram or some other wiring service. The scammer then calls the grandparent back for the wiring reference number.

Other variations claim to have a package in customs and need money to release it. The same tactics are used as the Grandchild in Trouble scam. The scammer will often know people's names that are familiar to you to make you think the scam is a legitimate call. Again they will ask the money be sent using Western Union, MoneyGram or other wiring service.

If you receive a call similar to these DO NOT send money. Hang up and call your local police department and then call the person who is supposedly in trouble(grandson/granddaughter, friend etc.).

For more tips on how to avoid being a victim of a scam and for a complete list of scams visit the Vermont State Police website at www.vsp.vermont.gov and navigate to the Crime Prevention tab. Addition

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tips and information can be found at websites such as Senior Scam Screen (seniorscamscreen.org) and Msnbc.msn.com.