Tune into Oklahoma Conference for Fraud Fighting Tips

Fraud losses reported by Oklahoma consumers have more than tripled in the past five years — topping $72 million last year. And, officials say, that number is likely far higher because of underreporting.

That’s why AARP is working to educate Oklahomans on how to protect themselves against increasingly sophisticated criminals. It also wants consumers who have had money stolen in scams to know it’s not their fault.

“A lot of fraud goes unreported because people feel embarrassed,” says Mashell Sourjohn, AARP Oklahoma’s senior associate state director of community outreach. “We want to change that narrative and put the blame on the criminals who put people in that situation.”

In June, AARP is co-sponsoring the third annual Fraud Prevention Conference, with sessions in person in Oklahoma City and also available virtually. The event is a joint effort among AARP Oklahoma, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Insurance Department and FBI.

The conference will be held on three Fridays in June. Presentations will cover protecting yourself in the digital landscape (June 13); combating elder exploitation, abuse and neglect (June 20); and taking advantage of available resources to help recover and move forward (June 27). The sessions will be held in person at the Metro Tech Springlake Campus, 1900 Springlake Drive.

The idea for the conference grew out of monthly meetings with banks, insurance companies, the FBI, AARP and other groups interested in preventing fraud, says Staff Sgt. Tara Hardin, coordinator for the Oklahoma County sheriff’s TRIAD program. TRIAD is a collaboration among the sheriff’s office, local police departments and older Oklahomans that works to reduce and prevent crimes against older adults.

“Younger people fall victim to fraud in nearly the same numbers, but older people tend to lose more money,” partly because they have accumulated assets throughout their lives, Hardin says.

Older residents sometimes lose tens of thousands of dollars — their entire life savings, Sourjohn says. Criminals use tactics such as pretending to be law enforcement and claiming the person must pay a fine or face jail time.

“Criminals get us in an emotional state where we make mistakes that we wouldn’t ordinarily make,” says Sourjohn, who will be speaking at the conference.

She says she will emphasize that victims should not blame themselves.

“These are trained criminals, and we need to understand that it’s not our fault,” she says.

Hardin says the other sessions will increase participants’ tech savviness and help them guard against financial abuse and exploitation by caregivers and family members. On the second Friday, AARP Oklahoma will also offer free document shredding. Participants can safely dispose of documents with sensitive personal information to help protect against identity theft.

Register to attend the conference in person or virtually by going to metrotech.edu/fraudprevention or calling 405-713-1086. To learn more about the free document shredding event on June 20, visit aarp.org/fraudwatchdog.

—David Lewellen