As Internet service providers, online merchants and other enterprises look for innovative new ways to combat fraud, they often overlook something that every customer has: a telephone. Ifbyphone, a telephone application platform company, is showcasing Verify-Me-Now, a new solution that enables ISPs and any e-commerce site to slash fraud rates by combining the power of the Web with the telephone.
 
Many fraudulent users provide false telephone numbers to limit an online merchant’s ability to contact them in the future. Verify-Me-Now turns that risk into a security feature with a simple process that validates that the person providing a credit card, banking information, or other form of payment is who they say they are.
 
Here’s how Verify-Me-Now works:
 
1.     Online merchants incorporate the hosted Verify-Me-Now application into their existing process that customers use to sign up for a Web hosting account or any other service.
2.     A telephone number is collected as part of each registration or purchase transaction.
3.     A PIN of up to ten digits is displayed on the customer’s screen.
4.     The Verify-Me-Now service is then invoked, either transparently or via a user-pressed button, with an easy-to-use API that is compatible with most Web-programming environments.
5.     The Ifbyphone server instantly places a call to the customer at the number entered in step one and then asks the customer to enter the previously displayed PIN using their telephone keypad. (The Ifbyphone server also can be configured to request and record the recipient name during this step.)
6.     Depending on whether the PIN entered matches the one provided in step two, the API returns a success or failure message.