Recognizing International Fraud Awareness Week

Brett Beranek of Nuance recognizes International Fraud Awareness Week, discussing the growing issue of contact centre fraud and how to prevent it.

Whilst the current COVID-19 crisis has brought many businesses and operations to a standstill, one area it hasn’t diminished is fraud. The sad truth is that fraudsters don’t stop their crimes because of a pandemic.

In fact, they often seize the immense change that comes with an event like this to ramp up their activity – targeting individuals and businesses whilst they are at their most vulnerable and least protected.

Recent data from UK Finance covering the first six months of 2020 showed that £208m was stolen in reported “authorized push payment fraud”, where victims unwittingly send their money to a criminal-controlled account.

These data also revealed that losses from internet banking fraud, when a fraudster gains access to a customer’s bank account through online banking and makes an unauthorized transfer of money, jumped by 32% to £64.3m, compared with the same period in 2019.

These figures are what makes this year’s Fraud Awareness Week more important than ever before.

This year’s International Fraud Awareness Week acts as a timely reminder to businesses and consumers alike that fraud prevention tools are no longer optional.

From social engineering to email phishing and the creation of bogus websites, fraudsters are taking advantage of any lowered defences during our current pandemic.

Now more than ever it is essential to look to experienced security and fraud solutions that demonstrate a strong track record of protection against cyberthreats.

Traditionally, we’ve relied on knowledge-based credentials to prove we are who we say we are – the use of names and addresses or passwords or PINs, for example. Yet these means of identification are even more susceptible to social engineering in today’s climate.

Biometric technologies could provide an answer for organizations looking to keep malicious actors at bay and ensure the security of both their customers and employees.

For example, voice biometrics are able to leverage more than 1000 unique speech characteristics – from pronunciation to size and shape of your nasal passage.

Meanwhile behavioural biometrics measure minute details – such as how a person holds their phone or even how they pause once they finish a task.

Security systems that incorporate these authentication tools are considerably less susceptible to hacking.

When it comes to fraud, prevention is always better than a cure. Without question, businesses and consumers need to be one step ahead, and education around the most effective security solutions – like biometrics – is key.

For information regarding Nuance’s voice biometrics tools, visit: www.nuance.com