Phone verification is a popular measure that can be applied to any service or application looking to achieve an extra layer of security. It can help improve the customer experience, boost brand reputation and enhance trust.
It also helps reduce fraud and spamming, while ensuring that customers’ privacy is protected. It can be a key step in any online transaction, and a company that adopts phone verification demonstrates its commitment to security.
Fraud
Whether you are using a phone number for 1st-time registration, authorizing upgrades, refreshing user details, or authenticating transactions, it is important to verify that the number provided is genuine. Many fraudsters use fake and disposable phone numbers to bypass classical verification methods.
iDenfy’s verification technology is a perfect way to check that the phone number a person has provided is actually their own. This helps prevent fraud, spam, and account takeovers.
For this reason, a comprehensive data quality management program includes verifying customer phone numbers in your database. This keeps lines of communication open, improves the quality of organizational contact information, and streamlines data entry processes.
Phone number verification is an essential security step for businesses and websites that want to prevent spammers, fraudsters, and account takeovers from using their services. It can be used in tandem with other identify verification methods, such as email, to protect your business and customers from fraud and spam.
Spamming
Spamming is the practice of sending unsolicited messages or advertisements in bulk via email, text message, social media or other online channels. Often these are commercial advertisements that contain viruses, malware or other malicious software.
It is a major cause of nuisance, fraud and identity theft in businesses. It can be a serious threat to the security of companies and personal information, and it is illegal in most countries.
A common type of spam is phishing scams, which are emails that are designed to trick you into sending your bank account credentials, credit card details or other personal information. They may also contain links to websites that are a gateway to malware.
Although most spam messages are harmless, it is important to be aware of the potential risks. For example, a malicious spam message can lead to the compromise of your data or a company’s network. It can also lead to a data breach, which could cause financial and reputational damage, check out this site.
Identity theft
Identity thieves use your information to obtain goods or services, like loans, credit cards, medical care and government benefits. These crimes can cause huge financial losses.
One of the most popular ways to commit identity theft is through synthetic identity fraud, which involves stealing someone’s name and Social Security number then combining it with other personal data required to create a new person. The thief may then open new credit card, utility and cell phone accounts.
You might be able to spot signs of identity theft by noticing that your credit card bills are higher than usual, or you’re receiving debt collector calls about credit accounts you didn’t open.
Once you’ve spotted a problem, report it to the police and place a fraud alert with the three credit bureaus. This will help stop a thief from opening new accounts in your name. You can also request a free copy of your credit reports. Those reports can help you see what other fraud has happened and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
Privacy
Phone number verification is one of the most common security measures that companies use to prevent phishing, identity theft, and fraud. It helps to ensure that only the rightful owner of a mobile device can access an account.
While it may seem like a lot of personal information to share with an online service, the majority of sites require phone numbers for legitimate reasons. For instance, many shipping couriers require a phone number in order to process a package or provide text updates on an order’s status.
Summary:
However, for 14% of respondents in our quantitative study, being required to provide a phone number was a deal breaker. This is because many users are concerned about their privacy on the web and feel uncomfortable handing over personal information.