10.1.2026 Brittani Yeager
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes
It’s a busy Monday morning: you’re juggling your inbox, a team chat, and reminding yourself to reschedule a doctor’s appt when you receive a text on your personal phone. It says your account has been locked. It asks you to click a link to verify your identity. You quickly tap the link, type in your login…and a few seconds too late, something feels off.
Who do you call first?
For most people, it isn’t the police. It’s their bank, their phone company, or the app where the scam showed up.
Recently, Iris OnWatch and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) hosted a panel on what that means for the businesses on the other end of that call. Here are a few highlights, plus practical ways to be ready.
Key Takeaways
- Many brands are already well positioned to help protect their customers. They just need the right partner to make it easy.
- Among Americans who lost money to a scam, 58% went to a business for help, like their bank or internet service provider. Only 40% reported the scam to the authorities, according to GASA’s State of Scams in the USA 2026 report.
- For brands, being ready means covering three moments: before a scam or identity theft event (Protect), when indicators are suspected (Detect and Alert), and after it happens (Resolve).
What Did Our Panel Reveal About Where People Turn After a Scam?
According to the State of Scams in the USA 2026 report, only 40% of victims reported the scam to the authorities, whereas a larger share (58%) sought resolution through commercial organizations.
That may sound surprising until you ask yourself who you’d call. Police and government agencies are still important sources of support. But when a scam hits, people turn to the brands they already know, and our panel made it clear those brands have a real chance to help.
Moderated by Nils Mueller of GASA, the panel featured Eugenia Blackstone of Iris OnWatch, Helen Simonett of Nationwide, and Travis Moseley of Capital One.
Missed the live panel? Watch the webinar.
How Can Businesses Protect Customers from Scams and Identity Theft?
Businesses can help protect customers by providing the tools they need at three key moments: before a scam starts, while it’s happening, and after the incident. That means offering proactive tools, active monitoring, and live human support – and providing these tech and live services through the brand customers already trust.
But why should commercial organizations provide identity and scam protection? Because that’s where people already go.
And there’s often more time to step in than you might expect. Of those who lost money to a scam, four in five victims said the scam lasted a day or longer. That’s a full day or more when the right alert, tool, or person on the phone can help change how the story ends.
What Should an Identity Protection Program Include?
A strong, comprehensive identity protection program addresses four pillars: Protect, Detect, Alert, and Resolve. Together, they cover every stage of a scam or identity theft/fraud incident, from defending against it before it happens to helping people recover after it occurs.
Protect: Defend against scams and identity theft/fraud before they happen
Proactive protection gives customers simple ways to shrink their digital footprint, check whether a message is legitimate before they click, and build the habits that make them a harder target. With the Iris identity protection platform, brands can offer these tools and give customers peace of mind before something goes wrong.
Detect and Alert: Catch fraud early, then act quickly
Monitoring helps keep watch where customers can’t, scanning the dark web for leaked passwords and sensitive personal details and tracking credit profiles for new accounts or inquiries.
The beauty of alerts is that they notify customers of suspicious activity as soon as it’s detected, while they still have a chance to stop it or reduce the damage.
Resolve: Help people recover
The monetary impact of scams is real; however, losing money is only part of the story. Scams also shake people’s confidence and trust. Among victims who lost money, 31% said they now regularly worry about becoming a victim of a scam, 29% said their confidence dropped, and 22% became more distrustful of digital tools and platforms.
Recovering fully from a fraud incident takes patient and compassionate experts who can guide customers through every step, from contacting creditors to setting up fraud alerts on credit profiles. This is where a brand’s care for their customers shows up most clearly.
How Do You Make Identity Protection Easy for Customers?
You can make identity and scam protection easy for customers by making it effortless – by design. That means creating a comprehensive program built around your customers’ needs – instead of relying on them to find, compare, and set up separate protection tools on their own.
It comes down to a few choices:
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Pick what fits your audience. A bank’s customers face different risks than a gaming company’s or senior services provider’s, so choose the solutions that match the people you serve.
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Keep it in one place. When tools and live support live in one familiar place, customers get help the moment they need it.
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Leave room to grow. As scams and identity theft tactics evolve, so do your customers’ needs. The right partner will guide you in selecting protection technology and live services.
For more ways to simplify protection, read Don’t Make It Easy for Scammers. Make It Easy for Your Customers.
Why Should Companies Offer Identity Theft Protection to Customers?
No matter your company’s size or type, you should offer identity theft protection because your customers already know and trust you. When something goes wrong, they’re going to call someone – and there’s a good chance it’s your brand. Being ready for that call turns the experience into a reason to stay.
For your business, being prepared pays off in a few ways:
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Loyalty. Customers remember who helped them on a bad day, which makes keeping that resource close an easier decision.
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A reason to choose you. In-demand, much-needed protection gives people one more reason to pick your brand over a competitor.
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New revenue or enhanced value. Identity and scam protection can be a paid add-on, part of a premium tier, or a bundled perk that boosts a core offering.
Your customers already know who they’d call after encountering a scam. Make sure you’re prepared to respond.
