Digitally transform voice channels to combat rising AI and robocall fraud threats

More financial institutions and their customers are under attack from robocall scams.

Consumers lost $4.6 billion to investment and banking fraud in 2023, more than any other scam category, according to the FTC. In addition, Americans were swindled out of another $2.7 billion by imposter scams.

One tactic used by bad actors is generative artificial intelligence (AI), which is turbocharging robocalls within their fraud arsenal. Capable of generating text, images and recordings, this technology is used to trick banks and consumers into making unauthorized account transfers or wiring funds to fraudulent accounts. The bad actors behind these attacks may use generative AI to create more realistic phishing emails or impersonate company executives by cloning their voices.

Fraud attacks and robocalls impact more than just consumers. Bad actors also target financial institutions that far too often are unaware they have been spoofed until it is too late. By the time they realize what has happened, reputations have been tarnished and customers have been victimized and defrauded.

This fallout has caused Americans to demand increased protection from financial institutions. According to survey data, 92% of consumers believe financial services organizations should take all the measures available to protect customers.

Financial services firms are exploring new customer experience (CX) strategies and technologies that satisfy customers’ needs for increased protection and enhance their brand credibility. The digital transformation of the voice channel is an important place to start, including equipping the voice channel with authenticated calls, branded calls and reporting tools.

Unwanted robocalls undermine the customer experience

Even major financial institutions can struggle to protect their customers from impersonation scams.

Last year, for example, a Chase customer lost over $120,000 from his checking account. He received a call from an 800-number that matched Chase customer service asking to verify a suspicious transaction. He was prompted to log in to his account via a secured link sent via text message. The bad actors captured his login information and attacked from there.

So, Americans are rightly worried and aware of banking scams. Survey data shows that 73% are concerned about robocall scams that claim to be from a financial services provider (e.g., a bank, tax consultant, mortgage advisor, etc.). Furthermore, 72% agree there has been an increase in these scams over the past 12 months. However, if the burden is on the bank customer to discern legitimate human and AI communications from nefarious attempts, it could lead to negative outcomes.

Bank account scams are among the common attacks by robocall bad actors. They pose as bank representatives to extract private financial data, such as credit card or bank account information. These tricky attacks pressure financial services firms to find solutions that protect their balance sheet and customer base. In fact, 93% of business executives agree that building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line, according to PwC’s 2023 Trust Survey.

That’s why financial services firms invest in solutions that digitally transform and secure the voice channel to protect customers and improve their bottom line through increased customer answer rates, lead generation efforts and call agent productivity.

How to digitally transform the voice channel

Financial services contact centers and outsourced contact center service providers are critical components of customer outreach efforts. Call agents are responsible for responding to customer complaints, confirming customers’ personal information and trying to cross-sell additional services.

With robocalls threatening the voice channel, financial institutions must deploy outbound communication solutions that strengthen it, protect their brand and customers and lead to new business opportunities. Call authentication, branded calls and reporting tools that leverage data are at the core of this digital transformation.

Call authentication ensures that only verified, branded calls reach customers. This critical technology, when used with spoof protection, effectively blocks spoofed calls in real time, mitigating the risk of brand spoofing while protecting customers and the firm’s integrity.

Branded calling presents rich company information on incoming call screens to facilitate easier brand recognition for customers. If a company’s name and logo are displayed on an incoming call screen, consumers become more likely to answer the phone.

Reporting tools that leverage data offer financial services firms visibility into calling behaviors that facilitate greater effectiveness in reaching customers and achieving ideal business outcomes.

This could include call behavior insights regarding call pickup rate, average call duration, average handling time, answering machine detection rate and rejection rate. By leveraging data from those five categories, contact centers can learn a lot about the ideal time to contact customers, thus increasing answer rates.

Benefits of a digitally transformed voice channel

Combined, call authentication, branded calls and reporting tools that leverage data work to solve the robocall challenges plaguing the financial services industry.

For as long as robocall scams persist, financial services firms must equip themselves with technology that can help restore trust in the voice channel so customers can differentiate between legitimate calls and robocalls.

By digitally transforming the voice channel, financial services firms can not only improve their customers’ experience but help drive more revenue to the company’s bottom line as well.

Jim Tyrrell is Vice President of Global Product Strategy at TNS.