FRANKLIN COUNTY — The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam in which callers have convinced people that they are family members needing money for some reason and instruct the victim to buy iTunes cards from a local store.

Sheriff Don Jones says the victim is provided a phone number to call and provide the family member with the numbers on the back of the cards. This allows the scammer to gain access to the money. The scammers the sheriff’s office are aware of instructed the victims to load each iTunes card with $500. The phone number provided is out of Alberta, Canada.

In order to protect yourself from the scam and similar frauds, you should hang up on calls from “grandchildren” or others who claim to be loved ones in trouble.

For quick confirmation that everything is okay, immediately call the person on a phone number you know is really theirs, such as their cell phone.

You should also be deeply suspicious whenever someone contacts you and demands that you send money quickly whether they request payment by reloadable debit card, prepaid credit card or wire service.