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A single phone call cost TriBeCa resident Kit-Yin Snyder close to $6,000.

"I wanted to help my nephew. That was the first thing that came to my mind," she says.

That was exactly the kind of reaction the scam artist who had contacted Snyder wanted. He called her pretending to be her nephew, and Snyder says he claimed he was in Lima, Peru, pulled over for speeding and arrested for possession of marijuana.

He asked Snyder to keep his call confidential and wire him money so he could get out of jail, which she did.

Only later when she told her daughter Kim what happened did Snyder realize she was a victim of what authorities call a "relative in need" scam.

"I think they target people who are elderly. They prey on that sense of urgency, this is an emergency, got to do something now, and so you're not thinking as clearly," says Kim Snyder.

Kim Snyder wonders if Western Union, where her mother wired the money, is partially to blame.

"They could post something up in their office, 'beware of scams' or say if an elderly person comes in wanting to wire thousands of dollars to Lima, Peru, are you aware of these scams?" says Kim Snyder.

NY1 asked Western Union about this and a spokeswoman said the company issues warnings on posters, brochures and through an automated voice system by phone.

The spokeswoman went on to say the company also educates employees and agents on consumer fraud and has a reward program for agents who spot and stop fraud.

Unfortunately, that did not stop Kit-Yin Snyder from becoming a victim.

The Snyders do not believe they will ever get the money back but they hope by talking about their experience they will prevent others from falling prey to this scam.

"Right now I tell people anytime cash is involved, say no," says Kit-Yin Snyder.

The FBI cautions people to ask questions that only a family member would know and use caution when on the phone with a call that seems suspicious.