ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE STOCK

BY MARK PEREIRA

VERIFYING CALLERS AND THEIR IDENTITIES ENSURES THAT ONLY AUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS CAN ACCESS CONFIDENTIAL MEDICAL INFORMATION .

22 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE

While sometimes I feel we overtrain , caller authentication has reduced the number of our agents ' Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HI- PAA ) violations . Most critically , we have no doubt protected our customers from being victims of cybercrime .

Yes , call authentication requires customers and agents to take additional steps and time , and it can be annoying and frustrating , like when you forget passwords or answers to verification questions .

But think of it like seatbelts . Seatbelts may be uncomfortable , wrinkling our neatly pressed clothes , and rubbing against our skin , but they can be the difference between life and death on the road . We never know when they ' ll save us from becoming crash test dummies doing somersaults on the road .

Similarly , caller authentication is crucial in protecting all of us from becoming a statistic on next year ' s Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) Identity Theft report . Verifying callers can proactively reduce the risk of identity theft and other malicious activities . So don ' t be a statistic : buckle up and verify callers ! As companies strengthen their website authentication protocols with security measures such as two-factor authentication , cyberattackers endlessly search for new ways to target their victims . By impersonating them through less secure channels , such as our call centers , attackers can gain access to their accounts , potentially exposing them to severe risks .