The RCMP say they have broken up an international telemarketing scam operating out of money transfer stores in west-end Montreal.

Officers conducted raids Tuesday on 16 Western Union and MoneyGram outlets that were allegedly involved in a fraud that touched hundreds of seniors in Canada and the United States.

'The fraudster defrauds the victim by posing as the grandson of the victim and pretending to be in financial trouble in a foreign country.'—RCMP Const. Kathy Brousseau

RCMP Const. Kathy Brousseau said victims were allegedly bilked out of a total of $3.5 million.

She said the alleged fraudsters were conducting what police call the "grandson scam."

"In this scam, the fraudster defrauds the victim by posing as the grandson of the victim and pretending to be in financial trouble in a foreign country," said Brousseau.

The caller then asks the "grandparent" to send a money transfer, promising to pay the money back upon returning home.

Brousseau said 1,000 people filed complaints to the RCMP. About 80 per cent, she said, had given money as requested by the people on the other end of the telephone line.

Police questioned an unspecified number of individuals on Tuesday as part of the investigation. Charges are pending.

The RCMP are warning people against transfering money without knowing for sure who it is going to.