Nuance updates voice biometric authentication to detect senior callers for fraud protection

Nuance Communications has upgraded its biometric authentication and fraud detection tool with age analysis to identify callers over the age of 65 for prioritization of their calls, the company announced.

The voice biometrics feature in Nuance Gatekeeper now helps companies protect senior callers through the sound of their voice, enabling their calls to be routed to live agents for better fraud protection.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has found that people aged 70 to 79 are the most common fraud victims, at an average loss of $45,300.

With over 344 million customers in fourteen countries, global telecom Telefónica is the first to roll out voice biometrics to prioritize services for COVID-19 most affected age groups, as fraud is increasing due to companies’ shifting their communication to digital channels. Nuance’s customer portfolio for this solution includes large financial, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, and government organizations.

Nuance leverages biometric technology with next-gen deep neural networks that enables authentication based on voice, behavior and other characteristics such as the way as user walks, taps or texts. The extra detection layer can tell the difference between callers aged 65 and over, and a younger caller, to avoid frustrations caused by pins and passwords.

“The current pandemic has made everyone over the age of 65 both more susceptible to fraud and in need of immediate service,” said Emilio Gayo, President of Telefónica España, in a prepared statement. “Partnering with Nuance Gatekeeper in developing together proper and agile solutions, we can best serve this group by prioritizing their calls and getting their issues resolved even quicker than we already do. The system is critical to protecting our most at-risk customers while enabling an easier service experience on the phone channel, which this demographic most commonly uses to engage.”

“Our advanced intelligent detection algorithms can detect unique characteristics that are common in a broad age group to enable more effective and efficient customer protection and service,” said Brett Beranek, General Manager, Security Business, Nuance, in a prepared statement. “We’ve enhanced this capability and are rolling it out to our entire customer base immediately to help them leverage the power of AI to support their most vulnerable consumers during the pandemic and well into the future.”

International companies that have implemented Nuance’s technology include the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), HSBC, RBS, TalkTalk, Vodafone Turkey, Deutsche Telekom and National Australia Bank.

Services Australia has enrolled over 1.2 million people with Nuance voice biometric authentication.

Article Topics

authentication  |  behavioral biometrics  |  biometrics  |  call centers  |  fraud prevention  |  Nuance Communications  |  voice biometrics