June 7, 2023

Customer Vetting and Agent Training to Identify Inbound Fraud

Scammers don’t just target consumers. They also target customer contact centers. These bad actors attempt to gain sensitive information from contact center agents in a process known as inbound fraud. Thankfully, with the right tools, contact centers can train their agents to spot inbound fraud, protect sensitive customer data, and safeguard the call center’s reputation.

Types of Inbound Fraud Calls

Contact center fraud isn’t as simple as its name may suggest. There are multiple ways scammers attempt to fraudulently obtain information from a contact center and its agents.

The five most common types of call center inbound fraud include:

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Mining – IVR mining occurs when a fraudulent caller calls a contact center’s IVR system to obtain customer account information and credentials.
• Stolen Identity – Scammers often use stolen identity information to call a contact center and pose as an employee or customer. The fraudulent caller uses the stolen information to try to obtain access to the actual employee or customer’s account controls. Fraudsters using stolen identity information is a typical contact center inbound fraud. In fact, in 2022, 21% of complaints were related to identity theft.
• Card Not Present (CNP) – Consumers make card not present (CNP) transactions every day. But when a scammer has access to a consumer’s credit card information and uses the information to make a purchase without presenting the actual card, CNP fraud has taken place.
• Account Lockout – Account lockout occurs when a fraudulent actor tries to obtain access to a person’s account and is successful. Once in the actual user’s account, the scammer changes passwords, access codes, security questions and answers, etc., locking the real user out of their account.
• Customer Impersonation – In this form of contact center fraud, scammers call a vendor and impersonate one of the company’s actual customers. The scammer claims they never received a shipment or that it arrived damaged and then demands a refund or a new shipment from the vendor.

These are only the types of inbound fraud most prevalent right now. However, scammers become more sophisticated every day. Contact centers must be especially vigilant regarding training their agents to recognize inbound fraud.

Tips for Agents To Identify Contact Center Fraud

Your agents are the first line of defense against scammers attempting inbound fraud. Scammers often engage in telltale behaviors as they try to bypass any vetting processes. Training your call center agents on the tactics used by fraudulent callers is the most critical step contact center managers can take to help prevent inbound fraud.

A trained call center agent should be able to spot the following behaviors:

• The caller is trying too hard to build a rapport with the agent. Some scammers seek to build rapport over time with a specific agent using flattery and other methods of building trust. The scammer is so suave and devious that the associate isn’t even aware they’ve been the victim of inbound fraud until after the fact.Tip: Trained agents to consider exaggerated attempts at flattery and trust-building red flags suggesting potential fraud.
• The caller can’t answer authentication questions. KBA, or knowledge-based authentication, is a layer of security used by many organizations. It asks users to answer specific questions to access their account, such as providing their social security number. A legitimate account holder has no problem reciting this information when asked. Tip: Train call center agents to recognize that if a caller cannot recite the security information or asks for more time to answer, they’re likely not the account holder.
• The caller can’t answer questions about their company. Companies that do business with your contact center have specific information about their ties to your call center. If a caller cannot answer questions directly related to their interaction with you, it’s likely not the business calling but a scammer. Tip: Train your agents to ask more pointed questions that only your call center and the business would know the answers to.

Other behaviors or tactics that scammers often use include unreasonable demands, trying to update contact information without the correct or current information, and using emotional appeals to obtain information without proper authentication.

While training your agents to spot these behaviors and tactics is a must, it’s not enough in today’s digital business world. It’s also imperative that your call center is vigilant in vetting customers, too.

Vetting Your Customers Is Essential

Customer vetting is essential in modern business. Thoroughly vetting your customers can prevent scammers from accessing your services. It can also keep competitors from acquiring sensitive information about your company’s operations. Putting vetting processes in place can safeguard your business reputation, contact center agents, and customers.

Customer vetting:

• Enhances business relationships
• Ensures your contact center meets compliance regulations
• Fights inbound fraud
• Keeps your sales pipeline full of actual, quality customers

One of the most important reasons for customer vetting is to prove that the customer is indeed a viable company with valid reasons for conducting business with your call center. Customer vetting also establishes who the main points of contact are at a business. That way, you can verify these individuals aren’t involved in fraudulent or illegal activities.

Keeping Your Contact Center Vigilant

Combating inbound fraud is crucial for contact centers. Although some of these procedures may be a minor inconvenience during onboarding, your customers will notice the difference. Authentic customers don’t mind the added security and peace of mind. Keeping customer information secure outweighs the additional steps to vet your customers adequately.