Identity verification and fraud prevention technology maker IDology has announced it has added number verification to its ExpectID suite.
The feature adds the ability to verify that mobile numbers are OK to call to call centers, keeping them in compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
"With the mobile channel becoming the most popular way to contact customers, it is critical for organizations to have a solution in place to verify mobile numbers and mitigate risk," IDology CEO John Dancu said.
Under the TCPA, call centers must have written permission to send prerecorded and auto-dialed numbers and text messages to a mobile number. They are not exempt in accidental calls and calls made to an incorrect number. They must also comply with the national Do Not Call list.
The law requires telemarketers to identify themselves when ask and are barred from calling before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
The fines for violation cost businesses cost over $10 million across the industry, and up to $1,500 for individual violations.
ExpectID’s number verification offers access to what it says is over 750,000 real-time numbers from mobile carriers. It shows which numbers are OK to call, which numbers aren’t and which numbers are indeterminable.
Since it’s so easy to dial a number that’s not allowed, there’s an incentive for call centers to stay in compliance since the fees are so steep for dialing numbers that they aren’t allowed to.
Automated calls will still be more widespread in the U.S. as it is an election year. Political campaigns and pollers will want to encourage likely voters to go to the polls and run surveys to see which candidates are likely to win. Political campaigns are exempt from the Do Not Call list, so mobile customers will still likely have to put up with them whether they want them or not.
Edited by Kyle Piscioniere