Call center criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in order to maneuver around authentication and security measures, granting them access to sensitive information. It is evident the evolution of fraudsters’ techniques is jump-starting other criminal behavior including account takeover and identity theft – causing the global increase in call center fraud to jump to 113% since last year.
Pindrop® Labs analyzed 600 million calls in efforts to identify recurring techniques and call center criminals that are wreaking havoc on the call center. With an end goal of financial gain in mind, fraudsters use techniques such as data dealing, spoofing, and social engineering to fit the needs of their schemes. Two iconic fraudsters utilizing these tactics include:
The Racketeer
This fraudster is known for making dozen of calls over several weeks to the same call center with the goal of gathering information about potential victims. He doesn’t request transactions during these calls, but rather works to create profiles of the potential victims to sell on the black market.
Mommy Dearest
Disguised as a distressed stay-at-home mom, Mommy Dearest distracts the call center agent by using recordings of a crying baby as background noise. The perceived stress of this caller manipulates the agent with elements of sympathy, allowing Mommy Dearest to avoid authentication processes and takeover accounts.
Take a deeper dive into the minds of The Racketeer, Mommy Dearest, and six other real-life fraudsters in our eBook Part One: Call Center Fraudsters Unmasked, which includes audio recordings taken from actual fraud calls. To find out how Pindrop helped identify and deter these fraudsters, read Part Two: Call Center Fraudsters Defeated.
