MILLER BAY — Beverly Staaden had just received her 2013 tax refund when she got a phone call the afternoon of March 7.

Staaden’s grandson was being held in jail in the Dominican Republic and needed $1,450 for bail. It was convenient, because the Miller Bay resident’s tax refund was $1,461.

She didn’t think it unusual to get an out-of-country call from her grandson, because he frequently travels with his dad.

Concerned about her grandson’s well-being, Staaden went to Red Apple in Poulsbo to wire a money gram to the proper authorities. The money was sent. When she called her “grandson” back, he said he was OK and headed back to the United States. He would call his parents before his plane departed.

After completing the transaction, Staaden called her son and was told her grandson wasn’t in the Dominican Republic; he was at a local drama rehearsal.

“I fell for it,” Staaden said.

Staaden was the victim of a phone scam. She said the person portraying her 15-year-old grandson even sounded like him. She thought she was dealing with the U.S. embassy and a bail bondsman.

Staaden isn’t sure how much the callers knew about her or if they got lucky. Whatever the case may be, in a matter of minutes Staaden was out more than $1,400.

She contacted the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, which took the report.

“I know I’m not getting the money back,” Staaden said. However, she wants her story heard so that others might not fall for future scams.

Kitsap County Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson could not say whether scams, such as the one Staaden fell victim to, are more common during tax season. However, he did say the scams are typically targeted at seniors.

People conducting phone scams can get personal information from a variety of sources, including social media, and go from there, according to Wilson.

Between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2013, the sheriff’s office received 416 reports countywide of theft or attempted theft where a scam or fraud was mentioned. Those reports were searched for in the sheriff’s office database. Of the reports, 323 involved fraud and theft in the second degree — where money or property stolen is $750-$5,000. Forty-one fraud reports involved first-degree theft — money or property valued at $5,000 or more.

Thirty-five reports had mention of a scam with second-degree theft; 17 scams involved first-degree theft. The reports cover unincorporated Kitsap County, and not the four municipalities with their own law enforcement.

Staaden said the information the callers used may be linked to a burglary of the former Kingston Tax Service. Staaden was a client of Kingston Tax Service when it was burglarized Aug. 12, 2008.

Included in the burglary were three computer towers and one laptop computer, Wilson said. There were some leads, Wilson said, but he doesn’t believe an arrest was made.

The owner of the tax service advised his clients to take active precautions against identity theft. Those steps included calling banks, credit card companies, the Social Security Administration, and major credit bureaus.