For a long time, businesses and corporations have relied on the verification of email addresses as a way to establish ownership of newly formed accounts. When it comes to the circumstances of the present day, however, it is more important than ever to check that newly registered users are, in fact, real persons.
Phone verification, on the other hand, provides a higher degree of protection and is rapidly becoming the method of choice for establishing ownership of new accounts.
What exactly is meant by “phone validation”?
When establishing a new account, phone validation asks for the user’s phone number instead of requesting an email address from the user. Companies all over the globe rely on it as an extra layer of security since it verifies not only that the user’s phone number is correct but also that the user may access it.
What steps are included in the phone verification process?
An SMS message containing a number that expires after a certain amount of time is sent to the person registered as the owner of the phone number. That person must then input the code into the application to verify their identity, typically while creating a new account.
Given that all phone numbers are one-of-a-kind and global, and practically all mobile phones can receive text messages, phone number verification is available anywhere in the world, and it is a very affordable kind of protection.
Companies may still perform phone verification on users who are only accessible via landlines or other devices unable to receive text messages. This is accomplished by phoning the user and having an automated voice recite the verification code to them over the phone.
Understanding the reasons for the creation of false accounts, as well as the processes that are being used to do so, has led many businesses to use phone verification as a method of protecting their customers from engaging in activities that may turn out to be fraudulent.
The Reasons Behind the Creation of Fake Accounts
To begin, it is vital to have an understanding of the motivations behind why someone would feel the need to establish a false account in the first place:
- If you want to steal someone’s identity, one of the first steps you should do is to create an account in their name using a different username.
- Users may establish fake profiles on social media or apps to spam, troll, or abuse real people.
- Phony accounts give excellent cover for abusing free product trials, contests, and other freebies. Having numerous accounts in a system makes it easier to “game” it.
Creating bogus email accounts takes minimal time and requires practically no financial investment. Cybercriminals are always looking for websites that need little more than a user’s email address and a password to verify their identity. This is precisely why they do this.
The Use Of Phone Verification Is Becoming More Common In Top Companies
Regarding the registration process, many digital pioneers already demand users provide their phone numbers. Companies that are industry leaders, such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter, verify the ownership of phone numbers during the process of account creation and then use them at the login stage to confirm the identity of a user who is signing in again. A growing number of technology companies have come to terms with the idea that if their customers link their phone numbers to their accounts, they can take advantage of additional security features, enjoy faster account recovery if they lose access to their accounts, and take advantage of many other benefits.