AUSTIN -- There is a warning about fraud targeting elderly grandparents here in Austin. It starts with an emotional phone call from someone claiming to be a grandchild. And as local couples are finding out, it can end with the theft of thousands of dollars.

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Young would do anything for their grandchildren. So it's no surprise when a call for help came earlier this week. Mr. Young thought it was his 19-year-old son, Zachary. "I swore up and down that was his voice, my grandson, on the telephone," he said.

The caller asked him to wire money after reportedly being in a car accident in Canada. As instructed, Young went to Wal-Mart where he would have sent a $3,800 money gram, if it weren't for a fast-thinking employee.

"She's the one that's really on the ball. She saved me right there. No question about it and the minute she heard it she said, 'That's a scam', said Young.

Aliya Rosegreen's elderly grandparents received a similar call just two weeks earlier. "It was a man pretending to be my brother who was sobbing, bawling, crying saying he was on a trip in Canada and had gotten into a car accident and needed money or he was going to jail," she said.

Rosegreen's grandfather also went to a Wal-Mart where he wired $4,200 to Canada. However, it's more than the theft of the money that bothers her. "My PawPaw said it didn't ruin his Christmas, but it did make him think twice about his generosity and that's saddening to him and to me you know?" she said.

The Wal-Mart worker let Young know that other grandparents have been targeted by thieves. "I thought she said she had four of them the last two weeks. I was not the first. I'm quite sure I wasn't. I mean bam she said, 'That's a scam.'"

The scam preys on the generous nature of grandparents. "That's why my grandfather always says he does things for other people. That's his joy in life. It's his God's gift that he can do for other people. And of course he wasn't going to think twice about helping his grandchild," said Rosegreen.

Wal-Mart declined to talk about the cases of fraud or the employee who stopped the Young's from transferring money. "Customer service is a top priority at Wal-Mart, and this case is just one of the many examples of how we care about our neighbors and the communities we serve," said Anna Taylor, manager of media relations.