Seminar reminds Oklahomans to be mindful of scams
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — There's a ton of scams going around right now, which makes caution paramount. That goes especially for their main targets, which are seniors.
During a seminar on Thursday morning, Oklahomans could get advice on how to avoid being taken advantage of.
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'It's a constant problem,' Oklahoma Insurance Dept. Divisional Director for the Medicare Assistance Program Ray Walker said.
They never seem to stay out of the news cycle for long, just like they never stay out of people's phone and emails. Scammers' tactics can be seen quite literally everywhere and it's always something new.
They try to get a bead on what scammers are doing, but they're quick.
'The scam artists are trying to find a way to take advantage of that,' Walker said.
Walker said over $60 billion is lost each year from the Medicare Trust Fund due to scams. Now, he's one of many on a mission to help slow that down. He was one of several speakers at a seminar Thursday morning held by Tinker Federal Credit Union on the Metro-Tech Springlake Campus to offer advice to seniors.
'Sometimes people can be very convincing and try to get personal information,' seminar attendee Dr. Freeta Porter said.
Porter said she's fallen victim to a scam before and she hopes that seminar can help her avoid going through it again.
'You just have to be aware of stuff,' she said.
A lot of topics were discussed but there are some main take-aways.
'Always be questioning things,' Tinker Federal Credit Union Financial Educator Kara Robinson said.
Never give out personal information including usernames and passwords, don't click any sketchy links and always know who you're talking to.
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'Just because they're convincing doesn't mean you have to buy it,' she said.
Also, never be afraid to talk to someone and ask for help.
'There are people to talk to and there's no stupid questions.'
Other speakers at the even included officials from the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, Tinker Federal Credit Union Fraud Investigators and more.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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