Fraud. Credit: MYKHAILO KUSHEI/ Adobe Stock
An employee at the $1.4 billion WEOKIE Federal Credit Union recently stopped a $50,000 scam attempt targeting an elderly member, the credit union said Monday. “The attempted loss was prevented when a branch employee noticed unusual activity and took time to ask critical questions before completing the transaction,” WEOKIE said. “The member ultimately revealed she had been pressured by scammers posing as law enforcement, demanding cash to resolve fabricated legal issues.”
The credit union reported the incident to local law enforcement.
This was not an isolated incident. According to WEOKIE leadership, the credit union’s staff has prevented several similar attempts in recent months.
In late 2024, the Oklahoma City Municipal Court issued a warning about callers posing as court or police officials claiming unpaid tickets, threatening jail time and demanding payment, according to city officials. Around the same period, the Oklahoma City Police Department alerted residents about scam calls spoofing OKC Police numbers. The callers, claiming to be law enforcement, demanded money, local media reported.
While these fraudulent schemes are rising in Oklahoma City, they are also increasing substantially throughout the nation, according to new data released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in August.
The FTC’s data showed a significant jump in losses from impersonation scams over the last four years among people who are 60 years of age or older.
Most notably, combined losses reported by older adults who lost more than $100,000 increased from $55 million in 2020 to $445 million in 2024.
While younger consumers also have reported these scams, older adults were much more likely to report these extraordinarily high losses.
Additionally, FBI data from 2024 estimated that $4.8 billion was lost across 147,127 complaints — a 46% increase in complaints and 43% increase in losses from the previous year.
WEOKIE issued a public advisory on Monday to make consumers aware of increasingly sophisticated schemes. These include cryptocurrency investment fraud, wire fraud, account takeovers and “money mule” recruitment tactics, where victims unknowingly help criminals launder stolen funds.
“Protecting our members is at the heart of everything we do,” WEOKIE President/CEO Jeff Carpenter said. “Our staff are trained to spot red flags, trust their instincts and intervene when something doesn’t feel right. Their vigilance has already prevented several members from losing life-changing amounts of money — and we want every Oklahoman to know: If something feels suspicious, slow down, ask questions and contact your financial institution before taking action.”
WEOKIE's 231 employees operate 14 locations and serve more than 67,000 members.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at pstrozniak@cutimes.com.
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