From left: Abigail Bishop, head of external relations at Amazon, and Amy Nofziger, director of victim support with the AARP Fraud Watch Network, speak at NRF PROTECT 2025.
It’s a curious thing: There’s no shame in someone breaking into your home. But falling victim to a text, email or impersonation scam often brings feelings of embarrassment and fear of judgment. The Department of Justice estimates that only 15% of fraud victims report the crime to law enforcement.
AARP — whose Fraud Watch Network annually receives 100,000 inbound calls from those who are either reporting fraud attempts or have been victimized themselves — has partnered with Amazon to help raise the bar in consumer protection. The collaboration has resulted in a new Guide for Brands framework. It’s the culmination of roughly 18 months of collaboration, and the findings were shared at NRF PROTECT 2025. The session included Amy Nofziger, director of victim support with the AARP Fraud Watch Network, and Abigail Bishop, head of external relations at Amazon.
This working group enhances the understanding of current fraud tactics and trends among NRF’s retail members.
“This is so relatable,” Bishop told the crowd on June 24. “Every single person here has received — maybe even today — some communication, unsolicited, about some deal you can’t resist, some request to confirm your password, your order. It’s a common occurrence. These bad actors are reaching out in every way possible, and we get to work together to do something about it.”
Though AARP is known for its services for seniors, Nofziger noted that 40% of the calls to the AARP Fraud Watch Network’s 150-plus specialists are from those under 50 years old.
Fraud goes beyond being a security issue to being a brand issue. Scams erode the trust that people have in companies; victims don’t necessarily understand that it’s not the company sending them the fraudulent text or email. Further, once victims go to the brand’s website, they may have trouble figuring out what’s “real” — and what to do next.
The speakers advocated for an easy-to-find centralized hub of fraud assistance tools and information on company websites (such as this one at Amazon), in addition to employing supportive, well-trained personnel who can answer consumers with empathy in addition to assistance.
As the speakers put it, the traditional “have a nice day” approach won’t cut it. “We are starving for human connection,” Nofziger said. “And when you’re in crisis, you need it even more. I get that AI is amazing … . But you really need someone to say, ‘I am so sorry that happened to you. Together, we’ll figure out what to do next.’” Also essential: offering clear, consistent communication on how to stay safe.
As scams continue to evolve, so must the support. The Federal Trade Commission notes that text message scams resulted in $470 million in reported losses in 2024, more than five times the amount in 2020. Further, impersonation scams cost U.S. consumers almost $3 billion in 2024.
It’s not just a loss to the individual; it’s also that victim’s inability to spend that stolen money in their community. Seniors are often targets because they have more to lose if fraudsters reach their retirement accounts; they also have less chance to recover.
Amy Nofziger, director of victim support with the AARP Fraud Watch Network, speaks at NRF PROTECT 2025.
In addition to easily accessible fraud help, best practices for brands include providing clear and immediate next steps; proactively updating fraud-related content on the website; and offering live support when possible.
AARP offers a variety of resources for brands, including research on new and emerging scams; a coalition that allows brands to join forces; website templates for fraud education pages; signals/badges for brands to show their commitment to fraud prevention; and victim support tools.
Bishop, noting that Amazon is an early adopter and this is not an Amazon solution, encouraged attendees to learn, grow and adapt. In addition to creating that centralized fraud information hub, Amazon made other changes as a result of the partnership: providing just-in-time messaging to those who report scams; targeting scam education by region; and offering information that helps consumers identify safe resources.
When dealing with fraud, Nofziger said, it’s important to take a victim-centric approach, “and look at it through the eyes of someone who is in the moment of being victimized.” It’s vastly different than, for example, assisting a customer with a return. The collaboration with Amazon included user testing, having victims go to websites of different companies trying to find the help they needed.
It was challenging enough — and would be all the more so, she said, in a time of heightened emotion and realization. “This isn’t a customer experience,” she said. “This is a fraud experience.”
The victims, she added, “need the tools.”
