Regardless of the industry an organization does business in, as companies pivot and grow, they must constantly look to minimize risks of data theft and fraudulent activities. This is especially true with the rise of identity theft and stolen account data that is widely available for sale on the dark web. Even a minor security breach can result in decreased customer trust and loyalty that many organizations work so hard to build.
A lack of trust between company and customer can result in long-lasting repercussions that extend to the brand, its employees, and its future business prospects. Moving away from email to verify account creation and activity is one of the first steps to building stronger security for any business. Luckily, however, there is a better way that is proving to be even more convenient for many users.
Creating fraudulent phone numbers require effort, time, and money. Attackers need to obtain a SIM card for every phone number, which requires opening accounts with legitimate telecommunications companies. Compared to creating fake emails, buying and swapping SIMs in and out of devices isn’t an economical or effortless choice. All in all, verifying phone numbers presents a significant barrier to automating the creation of fake accounts.
To verify a number and prove a user is who they say they are, a code is delivered via SMS (or by a voice call for non-mobile users) and requires the recipient to enter the code back into the application or website. Since phone verification is now globally accepted and messaging is now completely customizable, mobile phones are one of the best ways for modern businesses to verify user identity.
“This was the first time we decided to buy a solution instead of building our own. Twilio met all our needs and was very easy to integrate,” said Ablo Abad, Senior Manager Product Development at Mercado Libre.
The Twilio Verification SDK for Android fully automates verification, removing the need for users to retype codes. Google has partnered with Twilio because of its vast experience in building user-friendly communications platforms that reach nearly any phone worldwide. It does not take a deep understanding of the complexities of global communications infrastructure to verify users. But Twilio takes care of all the behind-the-scenes aspects of phone verification so clients can concentrate on growing their business.
Download Whitepaper on Reducing Risk and Enhancing Security with Phone Verification
