There is a very real and very terrible scam happening in the U.S. in which con artists are targeting and scamming money from grandparents.

It begins with something most grandparents want more of: a phone call from a grandchild, or so they think. The caller pretends to be in distress about something; he's been hurt in a car accident or arrested or gotten in some kind of trouble, and he needs money — fast.

One former scammer told CBS News that scammers can make up to $10,000 in a single day on the grandparent scam. When he was doing it, he just kept calling and calling until someone took the bait, and then started calling again.

A typical conversation goes like this:

"Hi, grandma and grandpa. It's me, Johnny. I'm in a little bit of trouble right now. Yeah, Ashley is good. But I've got a problem. If I tell you, you have to promise to keep it between us. Don't tell Mom and Dad. They'd freak out and wouldn't understand. I'm on vacation. But I got into a little accident, and I was arrested for a DUI. Things got out of control, and I need you to send me money. Pleease."

These days, it's not hard to find enough personal information about someone — name, college, location, etc. — to make the story sound believable.

To make things even more convincing, scammers will sometimes implore a fake police officer or attorney to get on the phone and explain the seriousness of the situation (to post bail or cover medical costs, for example).

The grandparents are asked to purchase prepaid money cards, which are commonly available at grocery stores and convenience stores. Once they purchase the cards and put money on them, the scammer instructs them to provide the multi-digit code on the back. Then, they can go online and drain the funds.

This is not a new scam. You may have heard about it in the past. But this crime isn't winding down. On the contrary, it is growing. Innocent grandparents are being scammed every day (the average reported loss of victims in Ohio was more than $4,000 in 2015), all for the love of their grandchildren.

Grandparents who fall for the scam admit to being heartbroken and feeling foolish. As with all kinds of financial abuse of elders, many actually try to hide it for feeling embarrassed and fearing losing control of the money they have left.

One of the reasons this scam works is the special the relationship between grandparent and grandchild. It's different than the relationship between parent and child. Grandparents are more likely than parents to send money with no questions asked. Scam artists understand this and take full advantage of it.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has offered the following tips for consumers to protect themselves from the grandparent scam:

—"Talk to your family about these scams and discuss how you would communicate during a true emergency."

—"If you get a call from a grandchild or other family member who claims to be in trouble, ask questions only your real family members would know how to answer."

—"Don't send money via wire transfer or prepaid card in response to an unexpected phone call. These are preferred payment methods of scammers because they are difficult to trace or recover once payment is provided."

"Limit the amount of information you post online and limit who can view your information. For example, don't post upcoming travel plans online, because scammers could use that information to take advantage of your family."

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.