Arkansas

Arkansas officials work to combat rising financial fraud targeting residents

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

Arkansas officials work to combat rising financial fraud targeting residents

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – Financial fraud continues to plague Arkansas residents as scammers target victims through phone calls and text messages, costing Americans over $16 billion in losses in 2024 according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Lorrie Trogden, president and CEO of the Arkansas Bankers Association, said the losses increase by double-digit percentages each year.

“They get higher and higher every year, and not by one or two percent, by double-digit percent,” Trogden said. “Despite how big those numbers are, we know those aren’t the real numbers. They’re actually much higher because people don’t report.”

Personal costs drive legislative action

Former State Representative Carlton Wing experienced the effects firsthand when his childhood Sunday school teacher fell victim to a lottery scam.

“She gets this email that says, ‘Congratulations, you’ve won the lottery and we’re going to give you $18 million for your winnings,’” Wing said. “She was so excited about that. They just said, ‘You just have to pay the taxes on the lottery and that’s how it starts.’”

Wing said repeated efforts by himself and authorities to stop his teacher were unsuccessful. The average person loses over $80,000 in scams, Wing said, though his teacher’s case involved “much, much more than that.”

The experience led Wing to help pass Act 1015 through the Arkansas legislature in 2021, designed to help financial institutions delay or stop certain attempts to scam elderly residents.

“There was really not much of a model anywhere else in the country. We were able to pull things from a few states and then apply them to Arkansas,” Wing said.

Banks face challenges stopping customer-initiated fraud

Every dollar lost to financial fraud costs a financial institution $5.75, Trogden said. Scams make up about 38% of overall fraud loss for financial institutions.

“Part of the problem is that many of these scams are customer initiated,” Trogden said. “So, they are contacted by the scammer and then they willingly, albeit they’re not just doing it, they’re being tricked into it, but they are willingly giving over their banking information or they’re going to the bitcoin machine.”

Bank employees are trained to identify signs of scams, but stopping customers remains difficult even when workers recognize fraud attempts.

“We have put every countermeasure in place that we could possibly think of but at the end of the day if the customer initiates the funds transfer, then there’s not much we can do about it,” Trogden said.

Romance scams, imposter scams, and online shopping scams are the most common scams bankers encounter. Victims typically respond the same way, Trogden said: “I thought this one was legitimate. I’m so careful. But this seemed so every day.”

Attorney general launches task force

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin launched a financial fraud task force last year after recognizing the need for better coordination with financial institutions.

“The reason we wanted to do that is we would often learn of a scam and we would find out that the banks were seeing it before we do,” Griffin said. “Why don’t we start meeting with banks so we know it ahead of time?”

Griffin said his own mother receives frequent scam attempts through texts and phone calls.

“This threat involves everybody but it’s particularly focused or troublesome for the elderly,” Griffin said.

The task force meets quarterly to share information about crimes financial institutions are seeing, giving the attorney general’s office better tools to pursue perpetrators. Griffin said his office cannot always recover victims’ money but emphasized the importance of reporting fraud.

“You’re putting it on our radar, you’re telling us what’s going on and we know what to look out for and we can warn others about it and save money as a result,” Griffin said.

Artificial intelligence presents new challenges

Trogden called artificial intelligence a “double-edged sword” in the fight against fraud.

“AI can data mine for any facts about you, any photos of you, and put together a profile that it is you trying to do these transactions or trying to do these things but then, on the flip side, banks are able to harness that same power to look for this fraud and to utilize it within their banking systems,” Trogden said.

Prevention tips for residents

Trogden offered several recommendations to protect against scams:

Never provide information to unsolicited contacts online
Call back using official numbers to verify legitimate requests
Only open texts or emails from known contacts
Establish family passwords to prevent imposter fraud
Report suspected fraud immediately to banks before contacting law enforcement

“Do not talk to these people,” Trogden said. “They are criminals and they don’t deserve your kindness.”

She emphasized the importance of quickly reporting the fraud to their bank, even before calling law enforcement.

“Call the bank,” she said. “Because the quicker you let the bank know, there might be an opportunity to claw that money back.”

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Arkansas

Arkansas Bested by Mizzou on Sunday

Published

6 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

It was a tight battle all the way through, but ultimately No. 7 Missouri took down No. 8 Arkansas in Sunday’s SEC dual, 197.425-197.225.

There was plenty for the Gymbacks to be proud of in the meet, starting with the all-around performance of freshman Allison Cucci. She earned a new career high of 39.500, good for the all-around crown and the highest of any freshman in the nation this season. Cucci also tied for first on vault (9.900) and got second on beam (9.925).

Redshirt junior had a fantastic outing as a floor specialist and scored a 9.900 on vault and 9.925 on floor. Both marks were good for a share of first place on the events. Senior Morgan Price earned a big 9.925 at bars anchor, which tied for first on the event.

The last two events of the day kept Arkansas in contention with Mizzou, as the Gymbacks went 49.425 on both floor and beam, the latter a season high.

Bars

After a 9.675 from Joscelyn Roberson in the lead-off spot, Hailey Klein got the Gymbacks on pace again with a 9.875. Avery King made her collegiate debut next and delivered a great 9.825 routine in a last-minute situation. Her fellow freshmen Avalon Campbell and Allison Cucci went next and scored a 9.750 and 9.800, respectively. Morgan Price anchored with the energy Arkansas needed and capped her routine with a stick to score 9.925. Arkansas finished the bars rotation with a 49.175.

Vault

Cami Weaver and Leah Smith opened the vault rotation with Yurchenko fulls, scoring 9.800 and 9.750. Cucci and Klein were the team’s first 1.5s of the day, and the two scored 9.875 and 9.800, respectively. Lauren Williams went 9.875 in the fifth position and Morgan Price earned a 9.850. The Gymbacks scored 49.200 total on vault.

Floor

Arkansas started out floor with a 9.825 from Hailey Klein and a 9.850 from Cami Weaver. Cucci then broke into the 9.900 range with a new career high 9.900 midway through the rotation. Smith went 9.850 in the fourth position, keeping Arkansas on pace. Williams and Roberson closed the rotation strong with scores of 9.925 and 9.900, which pushed the Gymbacks’ floor total to 49.425.

Beam

Madison Gustitus began the beam rotation with a 9.775, and Priscilla Park went 9.875 next for the Gymbacks. Klein concluded her all-around day with a 9.850 on beam midway through the final rotation. Cucci came up next and got a huge 9.925, a new personal best for her. Weaver followed with a 9.875, which brought Roberson up to anchor. She did her usual and scored a 9.900, and Arkansas closed the meet with a 49.425 event score on beam, a new season high.

Up Next

Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena for its home finale against No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday, March 6. The meet has been deemed a White Out, and the team is pushing fans to help break the NCAA gymnastics attendance record, which is currently just over 16,000. It will also be Senior Night, honoring a fantastic class of Razorbacks. Action is set for 7:15 p.m. and tickets are available online, by phone, or in person. The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

More Information

Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).

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Arkansas

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

18 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wally Hall

whall@adgnewsroom.com

Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

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Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance

Move over, Anthony Richardson. There’s a new quarterback athletic marvel at the NFL scouting combine.

On Saturday in Indianapolis, Arkansas’ Taylen Green broke Richardson’s top marks at the position since 2003 for both the vertical leap and broad jump. Green’s 43½-inch vertical topped Richardson’s previous high by three inches, while his 11-2 broad jump beat the Indianapolis Colts signal-caller’s measurement by five inches.

Then, Green reeled off a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That stood as the second-best time for any quarterback since 2003, trailing only Reggie McNeal in 2006 (4.35 seconds). Richardson, for comparison, logged a 4.43-second mark in 2023.

Green didn’t even bother with a second attempt after his initial time.

The testing profile created quite the stir around the 6-6, 227-pound passer, who had widely projected as a developmental option for teams on Day 3.

NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Green told him that no teams had approached him about working out as a receiver, adding that he would not be interested in a position switch.

Green started for the Razorbacks for the last two seasons after playing the first three years of his career at Boise State. Known for his running ability and ample arm strength, Green threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns last year while adding 777 yards and eight scores on the ground.

It was a banner day for Arkansas, as running back Mike Washington Jr. also stood out among his peers with a group-leading 4.33-second 40-yard dash as well as strong marks in the vertical leap (39 inches) and broad jump (10-8).

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