24 members of a large India-based fraud and money laundering conspiracy were in court recently after defrauding thousands of U.S. residents out of hundreds of millions of dollars, reports the U.S. Department of Justice.

21 of the members were sentenced this week to terms of imprisonment of up to 20 years for their roles in the laundering conspiracy that bilked U.S. citizens – specifically vulnerable citizens, including legal immigrants and the elderly, while three others were sentenced earlier this year for laundering proceeds for the company.

A number of Attorney’s, Investigators, inspectors and agents made the announcement on Friday.

“This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimization of the most vulnerable members of the U.S. public,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

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The fraudulent phone calls were made with a variety of scam techniques, one of which was an immigration scam from an alleged IRS operative.

In Canada, citizens would receive calls from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) office, explaining that incomplete registration of immigration documents have led to a set of fines that need to be paid immediately to avoid deportation.

In these cases, be wary of the operator instructing you to act urgently, and be discrete in who you speak to about the issue.

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The IRCC does not contact clients via telephone for the purpose of collecting fines to avoid deportation, explains the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre. Additionally, they will not request payments be completed by prepaid credit cards or private money transfers.

For more information on how to be vigilant during phone calls from scammers, click here.