How Call Center Authentication Can Protect You and Your Customers

Robust call center authentication strategies can prevent unauthorized access to customer data through password reset fraud.

Managing potential fraud in the call center environment starts with accurate identification of inbound callers. Failing to verify the identity of callers could allow hackers to gain control of customer accounts, which could cost your company millions of dollars in actual damages and loss of reputation. Implementing robust online identity verification tools can help call centers protect their customers more effectively to prevent lasting damage to the company’s reputation.

The Risks of Call Center Fraud

For companies affected by breaches in call center security, the repercussions can be significant and lasting:

• Direct financial losses to the company
• Damage to the company’s reputation
• Additional costs associated with making customers whole after call center hacks
• Fines or penalties from regulatory agencies for failure to protect customer data

Understanding the tactics used by criminals to commit call center fraud can provide insights on how to prevent these call center hacks and scams. A reliable call center ID system with biometric authentication could reduce the serious risks associated with password reset fraud and other call center scams.

Recent Call Center Fraud Incidents

Fraud and phishing are common issues for call centers in the United States and around the world. Remote password reset requests are among the most popular methods for criminals to gain access to customer data. These recent data breaches highlight the threat posed by call center security issues:

• In September 2023, MGM Resorts experienced a cybersecurity issue that may have been caused by a ransomware incident involving call center data. This attack shut down MGM Resorts websites and mobile apps. It also disabled digital keys to hotel rooms and shut down some of the ATMs in MGM casinos. Credit cards and check-in procedures were also affected by this serious cybersecurity incident.
• Caesar’s Palace also experienced a data breach, which the company attributed to “a social engineering attack on an outsourced IT support vendor.” These types of phishing attacks can often evade call center fraud detection measures because they rely on tricking individuals into providing access by pretending to be an authorized user and requesting a remote password reset.

In many cases, the data stolen in these call center hacks can be leveraged into further phishing attacks on the company’s customers. This can result in further losses and reduced public confidence in call center security. By incorporating robust online user verification methods, call centers and the companies they represent can streamline the call center authentication process while ensuring the highest level of security for all interactions with customers and end users.

How Call Center ID Scams Work

Call center scams typically rely on impersonating an existing customer or employee of the targeted company. The cybercriminal then requests a self service password reset or enlists the help of a call center employee to assist them in resetting the password or in changing the phone number or email associated with the account. If successful, the criminal can then use the account to obtain financial information or to drain funds from the account directly.

To convince the call center employee of their pretended identity, cybercriminals may use the personal identifying information of their victims to include their Social Security number, date of birth, family history and other common answers to knowledge-based security questions. Scammers may harvest this information from online sources or may use previous phishing attacks to access this data directly.

Methods for Authenticating Callers

The following methods are in common use in call centers and offer a fair amount of protection for customers:

• Knowledge-based authentication, also referred to as KBA
• Document verification
• Passkeys
• Multi-factor authentication using email or mobile phones
• Interactive voice response technologies and Caller ID
• Biometrics

Of these methods, biometric authentication offers the highest degree of accuracy and provides the best protection against phishing in the call center environment.

Maintaining Best Practices in Call Center Authentication

Understanding and implementing best practices in call center security can significantly reduce the risk of password reset scams and data breaches. These password reset best practices can provide improved security for customers and companies alike:

• Enhanced call center authentication: Adopting modern call center biometric authentication systems can provide added security for self service password reset processes and can assist personnel in managing call center identity verification. Because knowledge-based authentication methods are far less secure than biometric call center ID strategies, upgrading to biometric systems can reduce the chance of fraud and breaches in call center security.
• Upgraded password reset software: Updating your password reset software to integrate the most advanced call center identity verification tools can protect your customers and your organization against cybercrime. If you allow self service password reset procedures, making sure that these software tools integrate the latest call center identity verification methods can reduce the risk of
• Improved employee education: Teaching your staff members about common call center scams and ensuring that they follow all password reset best practices when interacting with callers. Education is one of the best ways to enhance call center security on an ongoing basis.
• Professional assistance: Most call centers lack the technological expertise to implement the most advanced call center authentication methods. Biometric authentication, for example, is one of the best and most reliable ways to ensure a positive ID for customers calling in to your company. Working with a company that provides innovative call center ID tools can empower your team to protect customer data more effectively.
• Biometric authentication for self service password resets: Call center biometric authentication is one of the strongest methods for determining the identity of customers. Incorporating these tools into your self service password reset procedures can offer added protection against data breaches and unauthorized access for your customers.

Implementing these password reset best practices can eliminate many issues with call center authentication and potential fraud in these customer-centric environments. Understanding the role of biometric authentication measures in safeguarding customer data can help your business to provide the right services and to avoid data breaches that could cost you dearly in time, money and reputation.

What Is Biometric Call Center Authentication?

One of the most effective and reliable call center passwordless strategies for identifying and verifying customers is biometric authentication. This method bypasses some of the most common issues with phone channel authorization:

• Phone number spoofing
• Unknown or unrecognized phone numbers
• Virtualized calling solutions
• Lack of data from some wireless and landline carriers

These issues make the use of phone numbers as call center verification and authentication tools less than reliable in real-world scenarios. Biometric methods for call center authentication, by contrast, use characteristics that cannot be easily changed to determine customer identities. This can sidestep potential issues with multi-factor authentication and knowledge-based authentication methods. One of the most effective strategies for biometric customer verification requires multiple steps for reliability:

1. The customer submits official documents with photo identification during the onboarding process.
2. On all subsequent customer requests, the password reset software or verification tools request a selfie to match the official documents to the customer.
3. Video verification and online chat call center verification methods may also be used to identify the customer and reduce the risk of data breaches caused by inadequate authentication in the call center environment.

Who Needs Advanced Authentication Tools?

Any business that wants to prevent data breaches and to protect customer information effectively can benefit from advanced call center verification tools. In particular, the following industries must maintain the highest standards of security and authentication for customer data:

• Financial firms: Regulatory requirements applicable to financial firms are intended to prevent money laundering and to protect confidential financial information from unauthorized access. Implementing biometric verification methods can reduce the risk of data breaches that could cost you and your customers significant sums of money.
• Healthcare companies: HIPAA regulations require physicians, hospitals and other companies in the healthcare industry to protect patient data against unauthorized access. Biometric identification is one of the safest ways to verify the identity of patients and to protect against the release of patient data to unauthorized individuals.
• Commercial enterprises: Along with robust customer verification to prevent fraud, businesses can also utilize biometric verification when onboarding employees. This can assist in maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements while protecting staff data from unauthorized access and use.

Choosing the Right Partner for Call Center Authentication

At authID.ai, we offer practical solutions for upgrading security and ensuring accurate identification and verification for customers and patients in the call center environment. To learn more about our customized solutions and to begin integrating biometrics into your customer identification and verification program, contact us today. We are here to help you to manage security issues effectively and to achieve improved customer identification now and in the future.