The best way to combat authentication and fraud in call centers is to prevent it. Understanding is critical in the process of prevention. There isn’t just one way to prevent fraud in a call center; there are several ways that must all be used together in order to authenticate fully.
Dirty Tactics Used in the Hunt for Authentication
A variety of things are being used to authenticate callers, such as an account number. A social security number is often an easy way for scammers to get valuable information from customers. You must be on high alert against any compromised data, and even then, these essential pieces of information are still vulnerable. This is primarily because companies usually ask for information to authenticate, like their customer’s mother’s maiden name or first childhood pet when people inevitably lose their passwords. Asking these personal-knowledge questions are also easy ways that scammers can get through to find out more account information.
There are many authentication approaches for companies, including Knowledge Based Authentication and Multi-Factor Authentication. Most call centers revert to Knowledge-Based Authentication, or KBA, as their main bases for identification. But KBA is one of the most vulnerable authentication methods to fraud. This method can be compromised very quickly by users with untraceable software or by cunning people who can trick others into providing information to them. The people who procure this information through these means can then use this information to call your customers or your customer service agents to commit fraud. Not only are these threats a reason to skip knowledge-based authentication, but it is also very frustrating and bothersome for your customers to be subjected to a series of questions before they are able to get to what they need from your site. Since it is not a foolproof way to prevent fraud, what else can a company use to guard their customers’ information?
Multi-factor Authentication VS Knowledge-Based Authentication
Multi-factor Authentication, or MFA, is a superior choice to KBA. The MFA uses an approach that provides each caller with their own one-of-a-kind identity token. This token is taken from your phone device and carrier information. Another way MFA is useful to companies is that it can understand the characteristics of certain sounds which can be translated into a voice print. By collecting all of this information, you can then enter it into a database. The computer then scans all the information to send fraudsters into a database that will then blacklist them from the company and customers’ data.
Using these tactics and tools, a call center will then be able to assess the risks through authentication. Then it will be up to the representative to use this useful data and decide whether or not it is a risk. Their decisions will be informed and based on several factors such as what kind of account it is and which transactions, and for how much, are taking place.
Related: How to Set Up 2 Factor Authentication
The top providers of authentication are TRUSTID and Pindrop. Each one uses an MFA method. Both have numerous important clients on board, such as banks, credit card companies, and insurance agencies. However, they can both offer solutions to companies in other markets such as retail, telecom, travel, or healthcare. These solutions also work best when paired with an IVR, which can automatically prompt the caller to enter their authentication.
These solutions to fraud and authentication have worked for very large call centers that employ hundreds of agents that work for millions of callers, but what can a smaller call center use? Small call centers can still benefit from these authentication strategies through Value Added Resellers. These VARs can bundle up different types of outbound calling services and sell them to call centers. That way, you can get what your call center needs on a scale that you can use to your benefit.
Fraudulent issues are becoming more commonplace in the market and companies need to be prepared for dangerous situations before they arise. Don’t let your company get caught unaware by scammers; use secure VoIP along with the top prevention methods in order to avoid putting your company in debt and frustrating your customers.