Authorities in Cumberland County warn residents to beware of phone calls from scam artists posing as relatives in need of bail money in order to get out of jail.

According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, a Harpswell man reported last week he was the victim of a money scam via telephone. The victim told authorities he received a phone call earlier in the week from two men presenting themselves as United States Embassy workers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The men told the man his grandson had been arrested and was in need of money for attorney fees and bail — even identifying the grandson by name. The victim told investigators he even spoke with a young man who sounded similar to his grandson. The man wired nearly $7,000 to the suspects in Haiti.

Only later did the man learn that his grandson was never in Haiti and that the two men did not actually work for the embassy.

According to investigators, the Sheriff’s Office recently received similar complaints from residents in the town of Gray.

Last month, a woman told authorities she was contacted by a man claiming to be her grandson. The woman wired nearly $2,500 through a local Western Union branch to a man she thought was her grandson after he told her he’d been involved in a car accident in Madrid, Spain. Like the most recent victim, she learned later — after her money was gone — that the man was not her grandson.

Authorities warn such scam artists often request that money be sent through services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. The Sheriff’s Office recommends residents check and confirm legitimate requests before sending money.