Narayan AmmachchiFraud attempts at call centers jumped more than six-fold in 2015, with fraudsters getting bolder and bolder by the year, according to a survey conducted by Atlanta-based identity technology firm IDology.
Considering the survey results, suspected fraud attempts rose for the third year in a row, from 36% in 2013 and 40% in 2014 to 46% in 2015. The most common type of call center fraud was recon and social engineering, which uses public information to get call center agents to disclose or change sensitive information that criminals can use to steal money out of accounts.
One interesting development in this year’s results is the rise in organizations reporting suspected call center fraud attempts – from 2% in 2014 to 13% in 2015.
“Call center fraud can take on many forms. For example, it can occur when criminals contact an organization’s call center pretending to be someone they are not,” says the report.
Due to increased data breaches, valuable consumer information has become readily available on black markets such as the dark web. Fraudsters can then purchase this identity information and use it to impersonate a legitimate consumer
Sometimes fraudsters contact customer service agents with stolen information in an attempt to ascertain the information on hand.
Tricking the call center’s automatic number identification was another popular method, followed by voice disguise or distortion. The company has suggested that call centers employ multiple layers of verification to prevent fraud.
As more and more consumers turn to mobile devices to perform every day activities as well as share sensitive personal data, an increasing amount of fraudsters are embracing mobile as a way of targeting them. Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents said that the volume of activity that comes through mobile devices has increased over the last 12 months.
Establishing a mobile identity and reducing the risk associated with the mobile environment is a complex challenge, says the company. Protecting customer privacy involves more than making sure that your customers’ data remains intact.
I have a question for you Narayan. if we think about avoiding compliance traps in a call center then don’t you think the idea of keeping the whole scenario more secure seeks more transparent technology. And that too the steering wheel should be given to the consumers more than the agents who are dealing with the sensitive information of the consumers on a daily basis. The data is not at all secure if a call center doesn’t provide assurance with tough credentials behind.