Jamaican phone scammer captured after calling former CIA, FBI director and his wife

PHOENIX - A scammer from Jamaica chose the wrong targets by calling the former FBI and CIA director and his wife and because of their quick actions, they helped the FBI capture the caller.

You almost never hear about these scammers being brought to justice after reports of what happens to the victims, like William and Lynda Webster. But this time, it was different.

They knew exactly what to do, and now they want others to help put a stop to scammers.

William, former FBI and CIA director, says he and his wife, who previously lived in Phoenix, are raising awareness about financial fraud schemes that target older Americans.

"A scammer identified himself as David and called back repeatedly and told my husband he had won $72 million in a scam," Lynda said. She told the scammer to never call back after she refused to send any money.

The caller started getting violent, she said.

"He said he would kill me, kill my husband, he was going to burn our house down and that our white brick house would look lovely with the brains of my head on the wall," Lynda said.

That is when the couple notified the FBI, supplied them with evidence, and the authorities tracked the caller down in Jamaica. He was later arrested in the United States during a trip.

The Websters are not the only ones getting calls just like this. According to the FBI's Elder Fraud Report, in 2021, there were just over 90,000, totaling losses of over a billion dollars.

This number is up by 74% since 2020.

The couple says we all need to do our part to help prevent these incidents from happening.

"You don't want to spy on mom and dad and grandpa, but you kind of have to. You have to listen to the other end of the phone, peek at the mail and the checkbook occasionally," Lynda said.

Often times victims do not report this crime because they are embarrassed, but the FBI is asking you to do so, so they can track the scammers down.

You can report scams here at this link.

This story was reported from Phoenix, Arizona.