CENTER TWP — A scam artist called an elderly township man and convinced him that his grandson was locked up in a Delaware jail.

The 76-year-old victim, in turn, Wednesday wired more than $1,300 to bail him out.

Problem was, state police said, his grandson was nowhere near any jail. The victim also later learned that his grandson had never even been to Delaware.

Police believe the case is another example of the “grandson in jail” phone scam that has racked up countless victims across the country over the past six years.

The Center Township man told police that an unknown person called him claiming to be his grandson. The phony grandson reported he was in jail and instructed the victim to wire him $1,340 to a store in Delaware.

The victim wired the money before he learned he had been conned. He notified authorities but police admit they can’t do much once the scam is over.

The scheme has been so successful for so long that the FBI has dubbed it the “Grandparent Scam.”

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that it has been receiving reports about the fraud since 2008.

Over the years, according to an FBI report, the scam and scam artists have become more sophisticated.

“Thanks to the Internet and social networking sites,” an FBI news release said, ”criminals can sometimes uncover personal information about their targets, which makes the impersonations more believable.”

State police in Butler did not indicate how their victim was targeted.

Police, meanwhile, warn people to be vigilant if they get a similar call. Their advice: resist the pressure to act quickly and do whatever is necessary to confirm the real relative’s whereabouts, before sending any money.

Authorities also advise that if a caller asks for your bank account number or urges you to send money via Western Union or MoneyGram for any reason, that’s a good indication of a scam.

Scammers prefer wire transfers, police said, because they are fast and generally untraceable.