As many organizations worldwide continue on the path to go digital, it is now more important than ever to establish a sound relationship with their clients. Having the contact details of the customer is crucial not only for the purpose of exchanging information – it is also a vital part of Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.
However, much of the information provided by the client has to be double-checked. It’s highly irresponsible to receive the data and simply call it a day – it must also be reliably verified. Identity verification solutions, such as iDenfy’s, revolve around confirming the validity of ID documents, but not the phone numbers. However, the company’s product line has just been enriched with phone verification. Let’s find out what it’s like and how it can help companies save funds and fight fraud more effectively.
What Is Phone Verification?
Chances are, you’re already quite familiar with it. Phone verification is used in many industries to confirm that the number provided by the client is valid and available. It can also serve as an additional way to verify the client’s identity (for example, Google’s two-step verification method when signing into the account using a different device than usual).
There’s hardly anything novel about it – phone verification has been used for years. However, the fact that it’s as common as it is, combined with people’s concern about the use of their personal data for marketing purposes, has led to the birth of many different methods to trick the system. Although understandable, it’s quite a problem for companies relying on their clients’ phone numbers to deliver crucial information, including newsletters, and yes, marketing new products. If the number is not valid, the information never reaches the customer, which is a waste of valuable time and resources of the organization.
Additionally, verifying the phone number of the customer is vital when fighting fraud. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that fraudsters rarely use their real contact information. And even if the phone number is valid and available, certain factors can help determine the risk associated with it. iDenfy’s solution was designed to take these and other issues into account.
Recognize fraud patterns early. Discover more here.
How Does It Work?
The procedure itself is relatively simple. Whenever the company needs to verify the client’s phone number, it will send them a one-time password (OTP) via short message or “text to speech” message if SMS is not possible. The person will then need to type out the password in the required field.
The process can be adapted for a variety of goals. A company may use it as an additional fraud prevention tool after a failed deep phone check or integrate the solution as part of the secure onboarding process. iDenfy’s product includes:
- Global coverage
- Mobile & Landline support
- Unique OTP in a matter of seconds
- Automated onboarding
- Two-factor authentication regulatory security
In addition to phone number verification, the solution is also risk score adapted. The so-called deep phone number check & validation will scan multiple data points of the phone number and calculate a reliable risk score associated with the number, which will help decide what further actions to take. It’s a helpful tool to recognize fraud patterns at an early stage. Here’s how it works.
A quick Application Programming Interface (API) call will analyze the number thoroughly and deliver the crucial information behind it, such as:
- Risk score (from low to high)
- Country of origin
- Original network
- Current network
- Roaming status
- Roaming country (if roaming is on)
- Roaming network name
- Availability (reachable or not)
- Validity
- Current route
More often than not, high risk will be associated with the current network being different from the original one, roaming being on, country of origin differing from that of the client, etc. It won’t necessarily mean that you’re dealing with a fraudster – but the probability of that will be significantly higher, calling to pay more attention to the client involved.
Open new opportunities with phone verification. Book a demo here.
What Are The Benefits?
As we’ve already mentioned, knowing your client’s contact details is a crucial part of KYC. If you wish to comply with the regulations effectively as well as ensure higher security and transparency between your company and its customers, verifying the phone number of your clients is essential.
There are many methods to bypass the classical solutions that have been present in the industries for many years. For example, one can easily find a fake phone number on the internet and use it instead of the real one. A person may turn to his family or friends and provide their phone number as a substitute. Finally, many websites offer a temporary phone number service that a person may use to receive a one-time password.
Using a reliable phone verification solution, such as iDenfy’s, will allow companies to feel more assured that the phone number provided belongs to the person. The organizations will no longer be concerned that the information transmitted may not reach its destination – the client’s phone. The solution is excellent to the organizations valuing their time and resources.
Additionally, the integrated fraud scoring tool is a valuable asset to any company that wishes to protect itself against fraud more effectively. In an age where digital services have become the new norm, fraudsters take advantage of any security gaps present in the system. It is then up to the institutions to implement the safeguards to battle the fraudsters and their devious methods. A good rule of thumb is to do more than is required by the regulations. More often than not, adhering to the bare minimum requirements puts the company at a much greater risk of being targeted by fraud.
Luckily, the companies rarely have to develop their own products, and phone verification is no different. The tools are already here, and one simply has to choose one that fits their needs best. We believe that iDenfy’s solution has it all and more. Feel free to contact us if you’re interested!
