Scam Call Training

Tara Hardin is an Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy who also coordinates the department's TRIAD program.   

"It is not an acronym. It is a tri-fold approach to this reduction in crime. The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office since it is a sheriff's program we partner with municipal police departments, and we partner with seniors,” says Deputy Hardin.

TRIAD is a National Sheriff's Association Initiative. The only goal is to reduce crimes against seniors. This meeting takes place every Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the Pete White Wellness Center in Oklahoma City.

"What do you do if you are out and about, and somebody starts shooting? Well, you have three options, you can run, or you can hide, or you can fight. But how do you know which is best for you?  How do you know what is best for the situation?" says Deputy Hardin.

TRIAD meetings are free every month at twenty different locations around Oklahoma County. 

"They're all over the Oklahoma City area.  And if you can't come to the south side, which is where you are now, you can go to lots of them, they are around the north and the east. And they are out there,” says Moore Resident, Susan Smith.

Smith says she's been attending TRIAD meetings for five years.

"I tell you I try to spread everything I can when we are with other people, even meeting people in grocery stores. Don't leave your purse unattended,” says Smith.

TRIAD covers one or two subjects each month at each of its twenty locations. 

"I get those subjects by speaking with and getting those officers' reports and speaking with investigators around the metro area, and the trends they are beginning to see, and then pick apart what happened, how the interaction first came about, and then engineer a lesson into how we could have prevented that,” says Deputy Hardin.

Back in February, the subject was the importance of and how to administer Narcan, which is a nasal spray given to someone suspected of a drug overdose. 

"Additionally, people take prescription tree opioids all of the time for pain management, and as you and I know as we age pain increases and so people might be tempted with the weather moving in that day to take that extra dose to get them through the day. And it might be the one that takes them over the edge,” says Deputy Hardin.

Hardin says these gatherings each month reach around 300 people.

"Some of the things we are investigating right now are what's called romance scams, business email compromise,” says Secret Service Special Agent Erik Bassler.

At the south Oklahoma City meeting in March Special Agent Bassler spoke about the dangers of giving out personal information.

"I’m working a case right now where a woman gave away 850 thousand dollars, her entire inheritance.  Her entire savings. Her 50-year-old daughter had no clue, and irate is the word I would use,” says Special Agent Bassler.

Special Agent Bassler’s main message was simple: Don't open emails, don't open texts, and don't take phone calls from entities you don't recognize or weren't expecting to hear from.

"I heard it all. They'll send a courier to your home to pick up the cash. They'll send somebody to you.  And that again goes back to social media. They are going to figure out where you live somehow some way,” says Special Agent Bassler.

"Every time I learn something new, so it's valuable, and every time I learn something new,” says 30-year Oklahoma City Resident Helga Spain.

 in January, monthly triad meetings also became available online through Metro Tech Community College.

"The more we can spread the information the better. If we can prevent one more person from falling victim to these crimes, that's our goal,” says Deputy Hardin.