Contact center identity verification: How to choose the best method for your call center
Improve contact center ID&V with our guide! Learn ID&V differences and a customer-centric approach for security and efficiency.
Introduction
3 methods of identification and verification
Many contact centers require customer identity verification steps in order to accurately identify callers and verify that they are who they say they are.
While they’re often lumped together, identification and verification are two separate tasks with two distinct purposes.
Identification is the process of matching a caller with an entry in your CRM to check their identity
Verification is the process of checking the caller is who they claim to be
In this post, we’ll look at the different methods contact centers can use to identify and verify callers, and explore which work best in terms of customer experience, accuracy and implementation.
There are three common ways to identify and verify callers:
- Automatic Number Identification (ANI) – identifying callers based on their phone numbers
- Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) – identifying and verifying callers based on their responses to a question/set of questions
- Voice Biometrics – verifying callers based on their voice
1. Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
ANI is the process of identifying a caller based on their phone number. It’s typically provided by CCaaS providers and uses phone numbers to discern the caller’s identity based on CRM records.
ANI provides a seamless experience for the caller, who can jump straight into their query without needing to go through an identification process.
2. Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA)
Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) is the process of asking callers a series of questions in order to ascertain their identity. KBA is prevalent in contact centers. Opus Research found that 99% of firms use knowledge-based methods for authentication and fraud detection.
PolyAI voice assistants have attained a reliable level of accuracy to perform KBA over the phone. We’re able to identify callers based on any piece(s) of information the company stores in their CRM including ZIP codes, order numbers, names, addresses and many more.
3. Voice Biometrics
Voice biometrics solutions are used to verify callers’ identities based on the sound of their voice. Voice biometrics solutions require customers to provide a number of voice samples to make up a voiceprint. Some solutions require customers to state a phrase like ‘My voice is my password.’ Others can identify customers based on their voice within a natural conversation, so seamlessly that customers don't even notice it happening.
Comparison
Comparing the top methods of ID&V
| Automatic Number Identification | Knowledge-Based Authentication | Voice Biometrics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Experience | Good. Seamless CX, but will fail if the customer calls from a different number. | Good. Naturally conversational and easy if verification questions are well-designed. | High. Set-up may be difficult to explain to some customers, but once they are set up, experience should be easy. |
| Accuracy of identification | Medium - high. Accuracy depends on callers consistently calling from the same, personal number | Medium-high. Accuracy depends on how many questions are asked and how difficult the answers are to obtain by other parties via e.g. social engineering | Medium-Low. Accuracy becomes worse as customer base increases. 1/200 people will be wrongly identified. |
| Accuracy of verification | Low. Multiple customers may be registered with the same phone number & phone numbers are easy to spoof. | Medium-high. Likelihood of multiple customers having the same information is low. Susceptible to social engineering. | High. Hard to impersonate but not impossible |
| Implementation | Easy. Offered by most CCaaS providers. | Medium. Requires sophisticated AI technology as speech recognition alone is unlikely to capture details accurately. | Hard. Requires collecting voice samples from customers and implementing voiceprint look-up. |
| Cost | Low. | Medium. | Medium-high. |
Recommendations
How to choose the right ID&V process for your call center
How companies choose to identify and verify customers will depend on the level of security necessary to provide customers with access to their accounts, and the level of customer experience the company wishes to provide.
Identification:
- Use knowledge-based authentication to identify callers where ANI doesn’t work
- Where possible, identify the caller based on their phone number using automatic number identification.
Verification:
- Use knowledge-based authentication to verify callers based on personal information
- Use voice biometrics as an additional layer of authentication
Automatic number identification can help to reduce average handle time in call centers.
FAQs
Call center identity verification FAQs
How can call centers balance security and customer experience in identity verification?
Call centers can balance security and customer experience by implementing AI solutions that streamline the verification process while reducing the impact of fraudsters, providing clear communication and support to customers, and continuously refining processes based on data.
What future trends can we expect in call center identity verification?
We anticipate more businesses will incorporate AI and machine learning for more sophisticated verification methods. Future trends are also likely to involve enhanced integration of identity verification with other security measures.
