The voice on the phone said his grandson was in jail. Hilton Head man sent nearly $10K

A Hilton Head man who thought he was helping his grandson get out of a New York jail was scammed out of thousands of dollars last week not once but twice, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report.

The man got a phone call June 21 from a man he thought was his grandson. The caller said he was in jail and gave the man a number to call to speak with a public defender named James Johnson, the report said.

When he called the number, the voice on the other end answered "public defender's office." "Johnson" was put on the line and explained the grandson was being held on a $30,000 bond, but could be released for $2,000 cash via FedEx, the report said.

The granddad shipped the money Thursday afternoon and it arrived Friday morning.

The man got another call from Johnson the next day who said that same grandson had been in a car accident and needed $7,500 cash — again via FedEx.

He shipped the money Friday and it arrived Saturday morning.

When the man got another phone call Saturday afternoon saying his grandson was being sued, he became suspicious and called police.

This story was originally published June 26, 2018 at 3:06 PM with the headline "The voice on the phone said his grandson was in jail. Hilton Head man sent nearly $10K."