Scammers have no conscience. I know because I've spoken to them. They would steal your parents' retirement money without batting an eyelash.

And according to the state Attorney General's Office, that's just what they're doing right now, and it all begins with a call out of the blue.

Florence Cook got the call last week from her great-grandson, Kenny, or at least a caller who claimed to be Kenny.

"He said, 'I'm in Canada,' and he said, 'I need some money. I've had an accident,'" said Cook. 'And he said, 'it was a bad accident, but,' he said, 'I'm alright.'"

Kenny said he needed $1,000 right away. So Cook and her husband, Horace, agreed to help.

"The kid needed the money, had to get home," said Horace.

Looking back, she remembers something strange about the conversation.

"He just kept saying, 'this is a secret, this is a secret.' I guess that should have alerted me, but it really didn't," she said.

The Cooks called their daughter, Beverly Gettys, who helped them take the $1,000 out of the bank and wire it to Montreal.

No one in the family realized this was a scam until later that evening when the phone rang again and this time it was Kenny.

"And she said, 'did you make it home from Canada?' And he said 'I haven't been to Canada.' And she said, 'didn't you tell us this morning that you had been drinking, were in an accident and to totalled the rental car?' He said 'no, grandma, I've been working all day.' And that's the first clue we got," said Gettys.

The family tried to stop payment on the money order, but the money had already been picked up.

That left the Cooks more than furious.

"Well, if I had my way about it, I'd lock them up and throw away the key," said Horace. "They're the lowest of the low when they prey on older people."

Here's how sleazy the phone swindlers are. After they stole the $1,000 from the Cooks, they called back, once again pretending to be Kenny and looking for $4,000!

Luckily the Cooks, who are in their 90s and live on a fixed income, said no.