Police in greater Montreal arrested 19 people Wednesday morning as they cracked down on a fraud ring.
Officers raided locations in Montreal, Longueuil, Laval and elsewhere.
They were cracking down on people they believe were running a 'grandparents' scam on victims across North America.
The premise is simple: a con artist calls an elderly person and convinces them that a loved one is in danger, or needs help.
Very frequently the young 'victim' is overseas, or a relative that the older person does not speak to often, but the solution is always the same: giving away large amounts of cash.
Police say that in North America police never ask for money when they have someone in custody.
They urge anyone who is targetted by this type of call to call police themselves to call relatives to verify what is going on -- and to call police as well.
The public can also call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
In December police arrested two people who were accused of running this scam on the South Shore. Police said some of those victims lost $10,000.
