If youre like me,
there are very few times that youll be found inside of a bank or purchasing a
big ticket item in a store. Its true
there are definitely people that set up their tents for black Friday deals, and
I have yet to see the day that my grandmother has made an online purchase. Although that may be the case, for most
people, online transactions are becoming very commonplace. From EBay to online banking, the Internet has become a necessity
in our day to day lives.
The real question is
how do we combat identity theft in a faceless society? What is going to keep someone from stealing
my wallet or my credit card and essentially become me to an online
merchant? If someone has stolen my
wallet, they may have my current address, phone number; credit card info and
God forbid my social security number. They will be able to answer some basic questions when prompted. So what keeps this individual from committing
identity theft? Knowledge Based
Authentication.
A number of businesses from ecommerce, payday lenders,
payment processors, mortgage companies, investment firms and numerous others
have seen the need for KBA. Knowledge
based authentication is a series of out of wallet questions that only the
true identity holder can answer. Although someone may steal a consumers wallet, they wont know that the
individual lived at 110 Fraud Street 10 years ago or that their old roommates
name was Jane Doe. This type of added
security is essential.
Knowledge based
authentication is the glue that holds identity verification together. It saves businesses time and money by
establishing that an individual is who they claim to be at the point of
sale. At the same time, it provides
reassurance to consumers that merchants take their protection seriously and
added piece of mind that it will be that much more difficult for a fraudster.
This is why Electronic Verification System provides an all in one solution with
KBA. It isnt something that should be
added to the identity verification puzzle. It is an essential piece thats necessary to combat identity theft.
[Contributed by Shea Allen, Verification Specialist]
