How to Minimize Call Center Fraud and Keep it Compliant

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With the large number of regulations being placed on corporations around the globe, many businesses struggle with managing data and keeping it compliant. Organizations that record customer interactions for compliance or quality assurance have an additional challenge of organizing and monitoring the data gathered in the customer contact center. 

One area that is often overlooked is the amount of personal, financial, and confidential data exchanged through contact center interactions. For example, millions of companies in the U.S. are charged with protecting consumers' credit card information when it is entrusted to banks, retailers, or service providers over the phone. In order to sufficiently protect this data in the contact center, businesses must employ strict security in their call recording and retention technologies.

Encrypt All Interactions

It is critical that businesses encrypt all phone conversations, chat logs, and emails exchanged in the contact center in order to protect customers' private information. Without encryption, every piece of data that is captured, transmitted, and stored is exposed, especially if network or storage security is ever compromised. By encrypting this recorded information, the company prevents unauthorized persons from hearing or seeing the data if the file is ever lost or stolen. 

Utilize Hosted Storage

As many regulations require businesses to hold on to critical information for an extended period of time, it is necessary to move voice and screen files, emails, documents, and other important communications to a consolidated archive. The business can reduce risk by removing information from local storage device and storing critical information in a hosted facility.

Companies like Autonomy Zantaz offer additional security by providing continuous data monitoring and disaster recovery. Recording solutions that provide integrated archiving functionality automatically transfer data to a predetermined archive location, further simplifying data retention management.

Monitor System Activity

Tracking user activity such as log ins, log outs, and playback is crucial to protecting data and maintaining compliance with a myriad of regulations. Recording tools should contain a built-in audit trails feature that automatically monitors user activity and generates reports on demand. This capability helps contact center managers quickly identify inconsistent activity, recognize areas of non-compliance, and produce activity reports to upper management and regulatory auditors.

Control Access to Data

By creating restrictive and well-defined user access roles, contact center managers can control who has access to what information and how that information is utilized. It is also pertinent that managers restrict users from copying and distributing recorded interactions, as businesses that rely on unprotected access methods risk sharing critical data with unwanted users.

One solution is to provide users with a web-based interface for accessing recorded data such as phone conversations. This type of interface streams data through the Internet rather than requiring individuals to physically download files onto a local machine. Data can also be controlled by employing voice and screen masking technologies that automatically block sensitive data such as a credit card number from a call, email, or other recorded interaction when it is accessed by a user that is not authorized to hear or view sensitive material.