Germ-ridden interactions may boost use of contactless verification

The impact of COVID-19 has brought with it the need for credit unions to adapt quickly and effectively to a set of new realities.  Member behavior has shifted—mobile banking interactions are up 200% and call center volumes have skyrocketed to more than 300%.

This is a jackpot for fraudsters.  Criminals are coming after stimulus checks, pretending to be sick employees, creating synthetic identities to get access to accounts, changing wire transfer information and sending compromising emails to lure members to disclose personal details to sell on the dark web.  As a result, identity theft will continue to be on the rise.

Credit unions need to start asking themselves these questions:

• When branches begin to open, how will you verify your members’ identity if they are wearing face masks and are apprehensive to hand over their driver’s license or another physical form of identification?
• How will your credit union balance this new, contactless way of verifying and building trust with your members while preventing more fraud?
• How are YOU going to protect your members in this new normal?

 

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