Police arrest a man in Surrey on Thursday. (RCMP)

Two B.C. men have been arrested in connection with an alleged cross-border telemarketing lottery scam that targeted senior citizens in the United States.

Police executed search warrants on Thursday on several homes and business in Surrey, Burnaby and Coquitlam east of Vancouver in order to search for evidence, RCMP Staff Sgt. Tim Olmstead said.

The men, who were arrested as part of a joint investigation involving the FBI’s Los Angeles office, now face extradition to the U.S., where they have been charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Victims sent fake cheques

In the alleged scam, telemarketers sent the victims a letter telling them they had won a lottery, with instructions to call a phone number to claim the prize. The letter would be accompanied by a cheque that would appear to be worth several thousand dollars.

When the unsuspecting seniors called the phone number, the fraudsters would persuade them to deposit the cheques in their own bank accounts, police said.

They were told to then withdraw the money and send it to the fraudsters, usually by an electronic wire transfer, in order to cover taxes and fees associated to their winnings so their lottery winnings could be released.

Wire transfers lost

After the seniors had sent their money, the banks would eventually determine the cheques were counterfeit, and the unsuspecting seniors would lose the money they had sent to the suspects.

The actual amounts the two men are suspected of scamming from their victims is still being determined, but illegal telemarketers bilk U.S. senior citizens out of millions of dollars annually, police said.

Olmstead said the public should be aware there are no fees or taxes payable in Canada in order to receive lottery winnings, and any persons who believe they may have been victim of a telemarketing scam can lodge a complaint with the PhoneBusters National Call Center by calling 1-888-495-8501