A 59-year-old Saline County woman was scammed over the phone this week for $1,000.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office says an international caller said, “Hey cousin” to the victim when she answered the phone and the ruse was on.

The man told her he was being detained in a U.S. Customs Office because he was trying to take $20,000 cash into Mexico to buy an automobile.

Then a woman on the phone identifying herself as a customs agent convinced the victim to wire $1,000 to pay for “duty on the cash.”

The victim later contacted her bank about the transaction and they encouraged her to report it to police.]