What Is Phone Verification and Why You Should Use It?

Did you know that a majority of businesses shut down within their first 18 months?

No matter the size of your enterprise, you want to protect it in any way possible. That’s why you must ensure that your information remains within the company. But without knowing how to protect your data, you’ll end up getting compromised.

Don’t panic yet.

With this guide, you’ll learn about phone verification and its benefits. That way, you’ll feel more secure and have a better time conducting your business. Read on and find out more:

What is Phone Verification?

This is a security measure that aims to verify whether a phone number is valid and accessible by the intended user.

It’s popular since you can apply this to any service or application to add another layer of protection. Take note, with millions of small businesses in the country, it’s easy for users to switch to others if they find your security measures unworthy of their time.

That’s why phone number verification is a great method of two-factor authentication for some online accounts. With SMS, only the phone owner of a phone number gets the PIN code in real-time. This enables them to verify their identity using the right PIN code before logging into their account.

Take note, phone numbers are ubiquitous without requiring more hardware. That means it can become accessible worldwide. At the same time, it’s relatively inexpensive as a means of reinforcing phone verification security.

Benefits of Phone Verification

Aside from security, phone number verification can benefit your business in lots of ways. Also, if you’re looking to validate emails as well, look no further than Email Oversight. This ensures both your emails and phone numbers are legitimate and secure.

Here are some of the things that make phone number verification a great asset for your business:

1. Confirm Use Identities

When a user puts their phone number after registering for an account, they can validate their identity. This is possible before they become part of your company’s ecosystem. They simply must connect the mobile device that uses the phone number to accomplish this.

After verifying the phone number and tying it to a specific user, you establish their device as a global trust anchor. This equates to secure access throughout the lifecycle of the account. With over 14 million victims of identity theft each year, this is a necessity if you want your business to continue operating.

As it stands, the user’s mobile phone used for verification becomes an intelligent, connected identity device. This gives them the means of confirming their identity as long as they continue using their account.

2. Avoid Bulk Account Creation and Fraud

If you want your business to combat fraud, you must use phone number verification. It’s because it gives real-time security intelligence as well as reputation scoring. This is possible whenever they verify their phone number.

If you analyze the phone number, gain insight on various valuable data, and assess risk from there. This serves to determine whether the registrant isn’t a bot or spammer aiming to register countless fake accounts. Even if you have a small business, fake accounts are more common than you think.

If you don’t do anything about this, fraudulent accounts will start wreaking havoc by spamming your legitimate users. A simple attack might cause you to lose over 10% of your user base. Don’t take that risk and use phone number verification.

3. Simplify Account Registration Process

User convenience is one of the most important components of ensuring a successful fraud prevention strategy. Take note, using email and username/password verification is at a decline. The reason is that most people use mobile devices more instead of desktop computers.

If you use phone number verification, you simplify your account registration process. They need only to give their phone number and confirm it. After that, they can start using your mobile application or website without further hassle.

4. Increase User Trust Using Two-Factor Authentication

Most consumers prefer companies that give extra security layers. After all, the majority of these people feel worried about their online security. That’s why you must prevent their accounts from getting compromised by putting layers of protection beyond the usual passwords.

You can fulfill this requirement by offering phone number verification. You can send a one-time verification using SMS and other methods to authenticate the user. It’s especially important when people transact with your company.

With two-factor authentication options in place, you can assure your customers that their accounts are safe. This goes a long way when you’re building meaningful relationships with your customers.

5. Secure and Cheap Account Recovery

Unsecured password recovery methods are among the most exploited channels to compromise user accounts. This can cost your business a lot, especially when you use a helpdesk to recover user passwords. If you use a self-service password reset solution, you can save up to 90% of the costs associated with account recovery.

Phone number verification serves as an established trust anchor. It uses your user’s number and device, meaning the process becomes more streamlined while giving an out-of-band channel. This combination ensures that only the legitimate user is recovering the account.

6. Increase Your User Base Value

With phone number verification, your business ecosystem will only have legitimate users. It’s because it stops fake users and bad actors from registering for an account. If you eliminate all fake accounts in your user base, its value will increase by a maximum of 44%.

7. Use Perfect Identity Technology

No matter where you are, it’s unlikely for mobile devices to go away. Take note, 90% of consumers will always have their mobile devices within their hands’ reach. Also, 60% of these people have the same phone number within the past five years.

The best part is that 64% of consumers consider their phone numbers as one of the key components of their identity. With this, you can conclude that people have physical and emotional attachments to their phones. That’s what makes it the most ideal trust anchor if you aim to verify the people transacting with your business.

Phone Verification Tips

Now you know the benefits of phone number verification, you must ensure that your users comply with this security feature. That’s why you must use the best practices for the user interface. Here are some tips:

1. Explain the Reason for Requiring the User’s Phone Number

When doing something, people feel more comfortable when they know the reason behind it. It makes them feel better when their trouble is for a good cause. That’s why you must explain clearly why you require their number for identity verification.

Terminologies differ depending on your users, but keep it as simple as possible. Put this on the registration page if they’re using a desktop computer. Otherwise, use a link or a pop-up option to display this information.

2. Give Users a Choice on How to Receive the Verification Code

Always give the users a choice on how to receive their phone number verification code. For example, the most popular options include SMS or voice calls. This allows you to cater to your users’ communication preferences.

Also, some users have no unlimited SMS message plans. That means they might get charged whenever they receive SMS messages. Sometimes, your target demographic might not like using SMS, meaning you might turn them away if this is your only option.

3. Explain the Next Steps

Always ensure your user knows what to expect at every step of verification. For example, tell users that you’ll send them a one-time verification code after they enter their phone number. This makes them anticipate your text message, making it easier for them to finish the process.

4. Never Use the “Pin Code” Term

When you describe one-time-passcodes (OTPs), never use the term “pin code.” Instead, pick “verification code” to drive home its purpose. With this, your users feel assured that the code isn’t a recurring identification code akin to the ones used in bank ATM cards.

5. Add Disclaimer Language

People never want surprises, especially when they want to trust your business. With disclaimer statements, your potential users won’t feel betrayed when they get charged for the phone number verification process. The best part is that you can do this by including a statement like “message and data rates may apply” to make them aware.

6. Offer Language Preferences

Allow your users to pick the language they prefer when they receive their verification message. This always improves your reputation since the user’s current country won’t always tie them to a specific language. With this, they have a chance to use their native preference.

Use Phone Number Verification Today!

These are the benefits and tips of phone verification. If you’re unsure whether your business needs this, think about how these benefits affect your business. Once you decide, use the tips above to make the most out of it.

Of course, you should stop here if you want to optimize security. To discover even more methods and other crucial tech tips, feel free to go over more of our tech guides today!

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