NICE Uses Voice Recognition to Take Down Fraudsters Dialing Call Centers

In response to growing demand from banking clients for call center fraud prevention solutions NICE, an analytics software provider, said it is launching its first system for fighting call center fraud. The solution uses voice recognition with real time analytics to match the voice print of the caller to a list of known fraudsters, says Ben Knieff, director of NICE Actimize (NICE's fraud prevention arm) and its head of global fraud product marketing.

Knieff says that the NICE's banking clients have seen an increase in call center fraud over the last couple of years as banks rush to bolster their online fraud prevention measures. With security in the online channel constantly improving fraudsters have turned to the call center to conduct their business, Knieff relates. "Authentication in the call center is difficult. You can ask challenge questions but answers to those can often be found through social media," he says. "And criminals can also manipulate human emotions through the call center. They can tug at the agent's heartstrings or they can intimidate them."

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The company's new call center fraud prevention solution is the first time that it is using voice recognition technology with analytics software to identify fraudsters over the phone, Knieff says. The solution will seamlessly run behind the scenes as call center agents answer customer calls, he adds, as it analyzes the caller's voice and compares it to the voice prints of known fraudsters. If the system detects that the call is suspect, the bank can determine its own procedures for informing the agent how to handle or transfer the call. The solution also flags suspicious transactions made in the call center so they can be investigated and resolved quickly, Knieff says.

NICE is already using the solution with some of its banking clients and no fraudsters have figured out how to trick the voice recognition system yet, says Ori Bach, NICE's director of solution management in its interactions optimization line of business. The system is difficult to trick, he explains, because it of its ability to pick up any distortions to the caller's voice, so criminals have a hard time masking their voice print. Although using voice recognition technology is still in its infancy, Bach says that it offers a huge opportunity in fraud prevention. While many banks are focused on better leveraging the fraud prevention measures that they already have, the fraudsters are quickly adapting to existing prevention methods, Bach says. "The key to making a real dent in fraud losses is to bring in something completely new," he opines.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio