Balancing fraud prevention with customer experience in the contact centre
Using AI, machine learning and biometrics in the call centre to reduce customer frustration.
January 01, 2024
2 minutes
Overcoming increasing attacks
Contact centre fraud is now big business and, with attacks becoming increasingly sophisticated, agents are working against the odds.
79%
increase in contact centre fraud
33%
experienced higher fraud costs
4.2m
complaints of identity theft in a year
79%
increase in contact centre fraud
33%
experienced higher fraud costs
4.2m
complaints of identity theft in a year
Common forms of attack
At present, the most common forms of malicious behaviour experienced by call centres include:
The stages of fraud
Fraudsters tend to follow a structured approach:
1
Harvesting
Fraudsters gather information to impersonate their target from data breaches, the black market, phishing or mail interception.
2
Reconnaissance
To validate harvested information, fraudsters exploit contact centres by testing data against IVR systems or agents.
3
Preparation
They then start making changes to the account, such as login or address details, requesting debit cards or adding new payees.
4
Monetisation
They can now lift out money with a simple bank transfer and conduct transactions without anyone noticing.
The growing cost of authentication
To combat fraud, the contact centre industry is investing heavily in authentication.
In fact, annually, ID verification alone is costing the contact centre over £1 billion pounds – roughly equivalent to the cost of building the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai (the world's tallest building).
But how do you reduce this spend and improve authentication without adding unnecessary barriers and friction for customers?
Introducing Smartnumbers Protect
Smartnumbers Protect, part of our fraud, security and compliance support, verifies the authenticity of calls before they even reach an agent – using machine learning to check:
call signalling
caller behaviour
numbers against the fraud database.
This provides frictionless experiences for genuine customers and diverts high risk calls to specialist teams. It also layers brilliantly with Pindrop to provide a multifactor authentication solution.
Pindrop
Pindrop is an AI-powered solution that makes it extremely difficult for fraudsters to defeat. It layers voice, conversational and behavioural biometrics to protect against a range of attacks.
And with passive verification, customer can use their voice as their password. This eliminates the need to remember obscure information and allows for secure, frictionless authentication.
Pindrop’s passive voice authentication technology is used by some of the largest financial institutions in the UK.
Why BT for security in the contact centre?
1. Our detailed knowledge and experience of fighting fraud
We have a strong track record in helping customers defend their contact centres against telephony, card and online fraud.
2. We take an industry-specific approach
We have experience in implementing solutions across every sector, working with customers who have to navigate even the tightest of security regulations.
3. We understand customer experience
Our contact centre security solutions work for the consumer, as well as the enterprise.
4. Our valuable partnerships and strong alliances
We have strategic partnerships with Smartnumbers and Pindrop, which means we can integrate these solutions into any contact centre.
A secure, satisfying experience for customers
Balance the risk of fraud and the importance of customer experience with an end-to-end secure contact centre, assisted by Smartnumbers Protect and Pindrop.
