Twenty-eight people are facing fraud charges after police busted a multimillion-dollar Montreal-based telemarketing ring that preyed on at least 100,000 victims.

"The investigation has shown that 100,000 victims have been defrauded of $45,000,000 by this organization over a period of 18 months," the RCMP said in a statement after the suspects were arrested Thursday.

The number of victims and the sum of money defrauded by what police call a "transnational" ring could grow as the investigation continues.

"They think that this was just the tip of the iceberg, that the 100,000 victims may be much higher because a lot of people just did not want to report this," CFCF's Herb Luft reports.

Const. Sylvain L'Heureux told Luft that the telemarketing operation changed as it grew.

"It went from pre-approved bank loans to pre-approved credit cards and credit-repair kits," L'Heureux said.

The victims were told that for a small sum, sometimes $250, they would be guaranteed a pre-approved loan. But they would receive neither their money back, nor the promised loan.

Authorities suspect the operation had been functioning for at least five years.

The arrests of the suspects, including the two ringleaders, came after police conducted raids in Montreal on Thursday, one in an office building. The bust was a joint operation on both sides of the border including organizations such as the RCMP, Quebec provincial police, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service.

The suspects face at least 10 years in jail and the ringleaders face even more.

Suspects arrested in Canada may be extradited to the United States, where there may be more arrests made, the RCMP said.

Luft reported that one of the alleged ringleaders was alleged to have been tangled in telemarketing fraud before.