It's not likely your grandchild is in a Canadian jail

Grandparents from coast to coast are getting shaken down and being conned into believing their grandchildren are being held in a Canadian jail and need cash to make bail. As unlikely as this scam might seem, it just keeps coming back -- something that happens when people pay up.

The Attorney General's office in Idaho issued an alert warning that people in that state have been targeted. About a dozen complaints were filed before the alert was issued, the office said.

This isn't just an Idaho thing. Grandparents across the nation have reported getting this call -- with some admitting they forked over the cash.

Phonebusters, a consortium of Canadian law enforcement authorities who monitor such scams, first noticed the increase in complaints about this one in the fall. As time has passed, more and more state and local authorities have been hearing the stories of elders being taken. The problem just keeps growing.