Addressing the Scam Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight
AARP’s Amy Nofziger outlines why scams keep working, who they really target, and what actually helps people heal.
Episode 45: Erin West sits down with Amy Nofziger, a foremost expert on fraud victim support. Amy leads AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Helpline, a free service that handles over 100,000 calls per year from fraud victims and their families.
With 24 years in the field, Amy brings real perspective on how criminals exploit emotion, why shame keeps victims silent, and how loneliness has become such a powerful tool for scammers. Amy and Erin:
Challenge the assumption that fraud is an older person’s problem
Unpack why high-achieving professionals can be particularly vulnerable
Make the case that real progress requires treating scam victims with the same compassion we extend to victims of violent crime.
They close with a direct call to action: If you or someone you love has been scammed, pick up the phone — the first call is the first step to getting your power back.
Scroll down for: Guest Bio - Chapters - Useful Links - Sponsors - More Stolen
Five Key Points from Amy Nofziger
#1 Scammers Fight on Emotional Terrain
Most fraud education treats scam awareness like a history lesson: Memorize the facts, and you'll be safe. But this fundamentally misunderstands how criminals operate. Scammers work through emotion: urgency, fear, love, hope. Countering them effectively means asking someone, not “Do you know this is a scam?” But “Does something feel off about this right now?” If you're feeling anxious, secretive, or pressured to act immediately on something that arrived unsolicited, your body is sending a warning.
#2 The Scams Haven’t Changed, The Tools Have
Criminals adopt whatever new tool lowers the cost of deception. The underlying playbook is unchanged: Get personal information, money, or both. The Publishers Clearinghouse impostor scam that was Amy’s first victim call 24 years ago is still in the top five complaints on the helpline today. AI hasn’t invented new scams. But it has made committing the old ones cheaper and faster, and created the ability to reach more people with convincing communications.
We used to say, ‘Trust but verify.’ Now I say ‘Verify, verify, and do you really want to trust them?’ — Amy Nofziger, AARP
#3 Fraud Isn’t an Elder Issue — It’s a Human Issue
The profile of a fraud victim isn't “elderly and confused,” it’s anyone with a smartphone and a bank account. Highly educated professionals, including doctors, lawyers, and finance experts, are among the most frequent victims of investment and pig butchering scams precisely because they are trained to suppress emotional gut reactions.
Criminals target older adults because they typically have more accumulated wealth, not because younger people are smarter or more alert. The AARP Fraud Watch Helpline is increasingly fielding calls from people in their 20s and 30s. And the FBI’s IC3 data confirms that scammers steal more money annually from people under 60 than over 60.
#4 Loneliness Is a Powerful Recruiting Tool
Remote work, geographic mobility, and the lasting effects of COVID have left millions of people more isolated than at any point in modern memory. Scammers — particularly those running romance and investment scams — work to fill that void by offering a sense of of connection and validation. Victims often invest months of emotional energy into the relationship and have powerful psychological incentives to ignore warning signs. In-person, consistent community is one of the most effective long-term defenses we have.
The emotion that comes with these scams and the amount of money being lost have definitely changed. A lot of people tell us that they don’t have anybody to talk to in their circle. — Amy Nofziger, AARP
#5 Victims Lose More than Money — and Deserve Support
The first question typically asked of a fraud victim is “How much did you lose?” It’s a relevant question, but not the most important one. The first question should be, “How are you doing?” The financial damage is real, but so is the destruction of self-trust, the fracturing of family relationships, the loss of independence, and the isolation that comes from shame. AARP has built peer support groups and family sessions specifically to acknowledge that emotional recovery requires its own infrastructure. Fraud victims are crime victims, and they deserve to be treated that way.
We educate people about fraud, like we educate people about history. Like, if you read this fact, you'll know the answer. But the criminals use emotion. So we have to use emotion to help people understand what's happening. — Amy Nofziger, AARP
Who Is Amy Nofziger?
Amy Nofziger serves as Senior Director of Fraud Victim Support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, where she has dedicated more than two decades to protecting consumers and supporting victims of fraud. A nationally recognized leader in fraud prevention and victim support, Amy oversees the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, a free, nationwide resource for anyone seeking guidance or reporting fraud concerns. Her expertise has been featured by major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Today Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and sociology, a Master of Arts with a specialization in leadership, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Scams and Fraud Awareness
07:28 The Impact of Technology on Scamming
12:56 Changing the Narrative Around Reporting Scams
18:24 The Importance of Community in Fraud Prevention
25:04 The Demographics of Fraud Victims
29:45 The Emotional Impact of Fraud
35:08 Empowering Victims: Taking the First Step
Useful Links
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel
Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back. Find Stolen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major podcast platforms.
Know the Number Before You Need It
Save the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline — 877-908-3360 — in your phone today. Then share it. Text it to a parent. Put it in your group chat. Post it on your neighborhood app. You don't have to be a scam expert to fight scams in your community; you just have to be one step ahead of the person who needs help. The helpline is free, available to anyone regardless of age or AARP membership, and staffed by trained specialists who meet victims and their families exactly where they are.
Sponsors of Stolen
BioCatch prevents financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate.
Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam and IDeveryone, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.
Recent Episodes of Stolen
