Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of the newest telephone scam targeting older adults. The swindle involves the targeted person receiving a call from someone pretending to be a grandchild, pleading for help, asking that a gift card be sent to help them out of bad situation. The sheriff warned of the scam in a Facebook post, Fri., Jul. 21. “This type of scam is something we’ve been familiar with,” Greene County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Adam Brainard said. “I’m sure it would alarm the person who would just do it [hand over money] rather than look into it.” The perpetrators request gift cards because the cash transfer is immediate and the cards are difficult for police to trace. Anyone receiving such a call is advised to contact the sheriff's office. Scams like these are difficult to trace because the vast majority of the calls originate overseas, Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.