Diane Valden is reporting in the Columbia Paper two unsuspecting residents of Columbia County recently lost thousands of dollars to scammers claiming to be law enforcement officials requesting cash to release a grandchild from jail, according to District Attorney Paul Czajka (CHAI-kah). In other instances callers have identified themselves as the grandchild in trouble and address the victim as “grandma” or say they are a different relative. The caller says he or she needs money for a variety of reasons: bail, car repairs or custom fees to re-enter the country from Canada. The caller then instructs the victim to wire the money via Western Union or MoneyGram. Czaijka cautions that any  request for money for any reason via the telephone to be skeptical. He advises to get as much information from the caller as possible, including proof of the their claims. The district attorney said if there is any issue at all to contact his office, the sheriff or the State Police. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.