Identity theft is a topic of concern for many Americans. While financial institutions, credit card companies and other organizations have put measures in place to try and protect the consumer and their information, nothing is fool proof. This latest solution from Carlson Marketing and VoiceVerified may offer a more secure alternative.

We’ve been hearing for years that fingerprint and voice authentication solutions would be soon available to protect our identity. Or, is it that we heard these things would be available as a tool for Big Brother to track us more carefully? Often fodder for sci-fi and other futuristic movies, this technology is becoming more of a reality.

Carlson Marketing and VoiceVerified have collaborated to produce a solution for consumers that is positioned as being safer, simpler and more secure as access to their accounts. In place of PINs and passwords or the sharing of personal information, access is granted by the sound of a person’s voice, considered their unforgettable password.

"This gives our clients an unbelievable edge with their customers, in terms of customer satisfaction and brand differentiation," said Andy Wright, executive vice president, Global Marketing Services, Carlson Marketing, in a Friday statement. "It has a huge 'cool' factor; it's totally secure; and it actually reduces contact center costs."

Concerns over identity theft have topped the Federal Trade Commission’s list of consumer complaints for the seventh year in a row. The crime has cost consumers and industry more than $50 billion annually for the past few years.

Speech Technology Magazine noted in its September 2007 issue that this year, US contact centers will ask identity verification questions of 43 percent of the 43 billion calls received. The associated cost is roughly $11.7 billion and 11,000 years of contact center agents’ time just to check the validity of the person on the phone.

Carlson's Wright added: "Consumers want simpler, not more hoops to jump through. But they want convenience without sacrificing safety, security and privacy. VoiceVerified(R) service provides all of these, plus operational savings to boot."

With VoiceVerified technology, a customer interacts with the system and is asked to recite six, five-digit phrases. From that, the system creates a mathematical representation of his or her voice, called a voiceprint. For all subsequent transactions, the customer is prompted to recite a random five-digit number and if the voice matches the voiceprint, he or she is granted access.

"Partnering a technology like VoiceVerified(R) that can do so much for so many people with a recognized global leader in consumer marketing like Carlson can help accelerate consumer adoption," said Jeffrey D. Randol, Chairman & CEO of VoiceVerified(R), in Friday’s statement.

"Carlson cracked the code on loyalty marketing and the travel industry, and now together we've cracked the code on identity theft."

Avivah Litan, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst, Gartner (News - Alert), Inc. shared in Friday’s statement, "In order to be successful with any form of authentication for consumer applications, you must assure convenience without sacrificing security and privacy."

The accuracy of this technology is recognized by the FCC (News - Alert) to fulfill Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) password requirements for telecom and is in compliance with Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) requirements for financial services.

"Protecting the privacy of customer data is one of the most important challenges facing companies today," said VoiceVerified(R)'s Randol. "Doing this while making things simpler for people and the businesses and institutions that serve them is a real win for consumers and industry alike. The only folks who suffer are the identity thieves."

 

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.