Scams. It seems that they’re everywhere these days. Every time the phone rings, it could very well be a scammer hoping to talk the person who answers the phone out of money.

The phone scams being pulled these days can be pretty sophisticated: a local phone number makes it appear as if the caller is someone from the area; a persuasive caller has just enough information about you to convince you they’re legitimate. But the information that they use against you is out there — it’s just a quick Google search away.

Scams and scammers are incredibly difficult to prosecute, simply because they’re likely calling from another state, crossing many jurisdictions. They could be calling from another country altogether, which makes finding the perpetrators even harder. While it always pays to alert authorities about a new scam, the likelihood that a scammer will be brought to justice is nearly nonexistent.

That is, unless you happen to be William Webster, former head of the FBI and CIA—the only person in history to hold both positions. Like many people, Webster answered his phone one day in 2014 and was told the good news that he’d won a $15.5 million lottery jackpot and a new Mercedes Benz. Bad news was that he need to pay $50,000 in taxes and fees before he could claim new riches. Webster thought the whole thing fishy, so he kept the scammer engaged, called in a favor and had the next few phone calls recorded by the FBI. Turns out the caller, 29-year-old Keniel Thomas, had been successful in scamming a few other people: one 82-year-old California man to the tune of $600,000.

Thomas received a greeting party of FBI agents when he landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2017. Last week, he was sentenced to six years in prison; on his release, he’ll be deported back to Jamaica.

It’s the rare case that led to the prosecution of a scammer. Thomas called the wrong guy, one with plenty of resources at his disposal.

For those without the backup of the FBI — which is pretty much everyone else — the greatest resource is the ability to suss out a scammer. If anyone calls and asks you to send them money, unless that person is someone you know you own money to, do not send money. If someone says they are an officer of the law, or a criminal defense attorney, and tells you your child or grandchild is in jail or in an accident, then says you have to send money to bail them out or for medical treatment, then take down the name of the city, county or hospital where they are calling from and go through the proper authorities to verify the claim. If someone says they are calling from the IRS and is threatening arrest if you don’t send them money, they are lying. The IRS will never call you. They only correspond with people through the mail.

Report the call to local law enforcement. Even if local law enforcement’s hands are tied, they still want to know what scams are going around so they can warn others.

Scammers specifically seek out elderly people, thinking that they’ll be more susceptible to their spiel, and for every scam that is revealed, a new one pops up in its place. The list of scams goes on and on.

Be your best resource. Protect yourself.