Contact Center Fraud Prevention: Credit Union Voice Biometrics

With today’s advanced voice biometrics, credit unions can be proactive about contact center fraud prevention and keep members safer from account takeover attempts. 

While a fingerprint can unlock an iPhone, it can’t grant access to a member account during a phone conversation with a credit union call center agent. Fortunately, a voice print can. Each person has a unique set of vocal characteristics that distinguishes them from everyone else in the world. Credit unions are using this fact to help keep members safer in an increasingly unsafe digital world.

Security Questions Keep Getting Easier to Hack

Until recently, credit union call centers have used out-of-wallet questions that rely on a member’s ability to give answers about information others are unlikely to know. But social engineering and widespread data breaches have changed the game. Today, it is much easier for fraudsters to defeat these traditional security methods. If they don’t succeed the first time, they will find more answers and call again…and again. Pins and spoken passcodes are also vulnerable to being compromised. 

True Voice Verification Is Highly Fraud Resistant

Voice biometrics are far better for fraud prevention than knowledge-based authentication (KBA). A person’s unique voice can’t be hacked through typical social engineering. Additional layers of security can also be built in by adding unique attributes from the caller’s phone into the mix. That’s the approach taken by Illuma Shield™ which combines voice and device characteristics to form a unique AudioPrint™ for each member. 

Combining state-of-the-art voice biometrics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning allows Illuma-Shield™ to identify subtle differences undetectable to the human ear. Even a near match won’t fool the system. In fact, clients have tested our technology by having close relatives with similar voices call in and attempt to trick the system. With the correct calibrations, they were all caught by our biometrics matching algorithms. 

With AudioPrint™ matching, the rate of false acceptance rate and false rejection rate are both quite low. The biometrics matching system uses machine learning to continuously learn and improve accuracy over time. 

Voice Authentication for Contact Center Fraud Prevention Is Seamless, Secure, and Satisfying for Members

Instead of adding more hoops for members to jump through when they call their credit union contact center, voice biometrics fight fraud while improving the member experience. Members are offered an opportunity to enroll when they call in to talk to an agent. All they have to do is say, “Yes.” and continue their conversation. An AudioPrint™ is automatically created in the background and stored securely in the cloud. It’s important to note that only the lightweight AudioPrint™ goes to the cloud. The phone call itself remains in the privacy of the contact center’s system. 

On future calls, real-time authentication occurs during the first 12-14 seconds of natural conversation and agents can be confident that they are talking to the right person. With this frictionless approach to securing accounts during contact center calls, member adoption rates are very high and agents can substantially reduce call handle times. 

Want to learn more about how Illuma-Shield can improve account security for your members? Contact our team today.