Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
By Jeremy Cowen
Senior Vice President/Communications
Editor
As the calendar turned to 2023, it became evident the Oklahoma Bankers Association was going to celebrate an important milestone anniversary this year for one of its employees.
Elaine Dodd, the OBA’s resident fraud expert, will have her 20th anniversary at the beginning of October. Hired in 2003, Dodd’s work has surpassed all hopes and expectations the OBA leadership thought a fraud department could accomplish for the state’s banks.
As the calendar marches down, however, so does Dodd’s remaining time with us. While she doesn’t have a hard date set, Dodd plans to head into retirement sometime relatively soon after her landmark anniversary on Oct. 1.
“I really thought it would be for just a few years until everyone was trained and it stopped being fun,” Dodd said about her time with the OBA. “Well, fraud boomed and it just never ceased to be fun. Plus, I found I love our bankers!”
Bankers will certainly hear more from and about Dodd over the next few months as she focuses in on a specific retirement date. With those thoughts churning, it seems both nature and fraud investigations abhor a vacuum and, while we could never REPLACE someone like Elaine Dodd, we would be interested in attempting to succeed her.
With this in mind, we wanted to share some bullet points about her position, in case there is interest out there in being the person to succeed Dodd.
Networking is key. Continued support of Info Security MAFIA (started by Dodd with The Bankers Bank and FBI) and all our regional MAFIA groups provide current knowledge of fraud issues as well as access to our federal and state law enforcement. Partnering with Oklahoma Insurance Department, Adult Protective Services, OK Securities, attorney general’s office and AARP for sessions across the state each summer educates customers and builds positive rapport for our banks.
Lots of teaching. The position presents fraud classes for bankers and customers of every age, with specific programs for seniors, retail customers and boards of directors. The majority of these are done on-site at banks or locations of their choice. The OBA schools and live seminars are also critical access points to reach bankers with fraud information and updates. Additionally, Zoom and other similar video platforms have seen increased usage in the fraud training landscape.
Always learning. It’s critical to be curious about the ever-changing fraud landscape and tools or resources to help our bankers.
Variable days. There’s no “typical” day in Dodd’s position, but many include helping a bank to notify or recover funds on a wire fraud, assisting and educating multiple customers who have been scammed and working with law enforcement or agencies trying to help on fraud cases.
When Dodd came on board two decades ago, she had the opportunity to “invent the wheel” when piecing together what her position would entail. Anyone coming into the position now will also want to make it their own and will have the opportunity to do so.
What the OBA wants with and from the position is exactly what Dodd wants: to train a perfect person for our bankers and ensure it is someone who cares deeply about the safety of our bankers and banks.
For those who are interested, you may submit a resume and salary requirements to the OBA, c/o Lea Ann Jackson (leaann@oba.com). For more information about the position, please reach out to Dodd here at the OBA (elaine@oba.com) or with our COO/CFO Lea Ann Jackson (leaann@oba.com) or President and CEO Adrian Beverage (adrian@oba.com).
A full job description for the position is available for download from the OBA website at https://www.oba.com/2023/02/08/oba-fraud-position/. You can also contact the OBA for an emailed copy.
In the meantime, be assured Dodd is still here and responding to fraud inquiries daily from our banks and bankers … and you can be assured she will be doing so until and throughout her benchmark year here with the Association.