ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Better Business Bureau is investigating a nationwide scam that preys on the emotions of senior citizens for money.

An Allen Park grandmother was the most recent target and was almost conned out of $7,000.

A week ago, Helen Broskea, 82, received a call from a man claiming to be her 21-year-old grandson Brandon. The man said he was in Canada and ran into some trouble and was in need of an immediate wire transfer of money.

The man told Broskea he was in Canada and got into an accident with a rental car and they would not let him go back to the U.S. until he paid $7,000. Broskea said she made sure to ask a lot of questions, such as why he was in Canada, why he was in a rental car when he had his own, and why he was calling from a phone booth when he had a cell phone.

Broskea said the man had a legitimate answer to all of her questions and then gave her instructions on how to send a $7,000 Money-Gram to an address in Canada.

"I was a wreck. I was thinking -- It sounded like him, 'Grandma I love you,'" said Broskea.

He told her he would reimburse her from his car insurance money the next day, and one more thing: Don't tell anybody, said Broskea.

The worried grandmother was ready to get the money when she called her son, Brandon's father, to see if he had heard from his son. Broskea's son called the real Brandon, who assured him he was in Kalamazoo attending school.

The scam artists called back a few more times and said it would be OK if she only sent $2,000.

"Just send $5,000 grandma because another grandma just sent $2,000. I said, 'Oh really,'" said Broskea.

Once the scam artists realized their plan had been foiled, they stopped calling.

According to the BBB, the scam has been used on seniors across the county. The BBB said the scam works like this: A grandparent receives a call from grandchildren, claiming that they are in some kind of trouble, usually an automobile accident, in the hospital, under arrest or in need of bail money immediately.

Police are not sure how the scammers get the names and numbers of the seniors, but once they get them on the phone they begin fishing for information.

The caller usually begins the conversation by saying, "Hi, Grandma, It's me, your favorite grandchild."

With the information given, the caller makes the pitch of being in trouble and in need of money.

A Wisconsin woman wired the scammers $15,000 and an Ann Arbor woman was recently stopped by a cautious teller from wiring the scam artists $10,000.

The BBB encourages family members to explain the scam to elderly people, hang up if they receive a call like this and verify with the supposedly distressed family members before wiring money.

Also if someone asks to wire money, a red flag should go up because wire transfers are hard to trace, according to the BBB.

To report an incident, call your local Better Business Bureau at 248-644-9100 or visit bbb.org .