How Retailers Can Protect Voice Channel From AI Impersonation Scams

Scam robocalls continue to generate the largest volume of consumer complaints received by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Recent data show that scam and telemarketing calls increased by 15.6 percent in 2025 compared to the prior year, adding roughly 420 million additional scam calls each month.

For retail and e-commerce companies, the implications are real and immediate. The FCC recently issued a nationwide warning about robocall campaigns in which scammers posed as Walmart employees, illustrating how retail brands are prime targets for impersonation fraud. Against this backdrop, more than half (52 percent) of Americans either discovered a retail purchase made in their name by someone impersonating them or know someone who experienced that type of fraud. It's a wake-up call for retailers working to stay ahead of bad actors.

AI is Accelerating Voice Scam Activity

With generative artificial intelligence tools widely available, robocall campaigns targeting customers — as well as retailers themselves — are more convincing and difficult to detect. Consumers are noticing the shift: our 2025 consumer research data found that 80 percent of Americans believe impersonation scams increased in 2025, and more than half say they know someone who lost money to one of these schemes.

AI is fueling voice scams and financial losses associated with these campaigns. Seventy-seven percent of Americans are very concerned that AI technology can be used to convincingly impersonate their voice or identity to access sensitive accounts.

Retailers, for their part, are investing in AI enterprise-wide. While use cases are infinite, budgets are not, and retailers of all sizes are prioritizing for maximum impact. The National Retail Federation's Retail Trends 2025 Report found that two-thirds of those surveyed have already implemented or are currently implementing AI applications for cybersecurity and fraud prevention, ranking third behind IT coding and development and office productivity.

Within this AI arms race, a core challenge for retailers is how best to strengthen fraud prevention without adding friction to the customer experience. Encouragingly, consumers appear willing to accept additional safeguards as TNS’ survey data reveals that 84 percent of Americans would tolerate a longer login or customer verification process if it helps reduce the risk of bad actors accessing their accounts.

Rethinking Who Fraudsters Target

For years, scammers have disproportionately targeted older Americans, evidenced by the fact that elder fraud costs seniors more than $3 billion annually. But scammers are equal opportunity, and lifestyle factors make younger generations highly vulnerable to scammers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that while older adults lose more money per incident, Generation Z adults (18-29) report losing money to fraud more often than any other age group.

Our own data affirm the retail fraud risks to all demographics. While 52 percent of Americans overall say they experienced or know someone affected by retail impersonation fraud, the number rises to 58 percent among Gen Z consumers. By comparison, the figure drops to 34 percent among baby boomers, highlighting how younger consumers are increasingly targeted for impersonation scams.

A key reason for this dynamic is that scam campaigns are often multimodal across some combination of voice, text, email, and social channels. A consumer might receive a text message referencing a supposed delivery issue, followed by a call from someone claiming to represent the same retailer. Emails or additional messages may follow to reinforce credibility. The fact that some of these scams originate in applications that younger generations use for several hours a day creates a persistent attack surface.

Addressing the Expanding Attack Surface

Retailers increasingly recognize the importance of treating the voice channel with the same security priority they apply to their networks, cloud environments, and customer data systems.

Protecting both brand reputation and customers requires a comprehensive approach to voice security.

• Present critical call information. Displaying a company’s name and logo during outbound calls helps customers clearly identify legitimate contacts and better understand who is reaching out.
• Prioritize call authentication. Proper call validation allows organizations to verify that an outbound call truly originates from the number associated with the business.
• Implement spoof protection. Calls that cannot be properly authenticated should be blocked before reaching customers to prevent fraudsters from impersonating legitimate businesses.

Historically, many companies prioritized securing networks, email systems, and physical infrastructure. As impersonation scams become more advanced, the voice channel is emerging as a critical vulnerability. Retail and e-commerce companies that expand their security strategies to address these evolving threats will be better positioned to protect customers and their brands.

Mike Schinnerer is vice president of product management for enterprise sales at TNS with responsibility for the TNS Communications Market.