Next Caller – the three-year-old startup based in New York- provides the most advanced caller identification system to any business vulnerable to phone fraud. Generally, this includes banks, financial institutions, retailers, and government agencies.
Though as companies strengthen and improve their fraud detection structure, so do fraudsters refine their tactics to attack, costing businesses more money and time, and making life more difficult for real customers.
The most recent fraudulent method has been phone spoofing – when criminals manipulate their phone number and trick a business into thinking that they are a real customer.
The technology created by Next Caller allows companies to instantly verify caller identities, certify phone numbers, and flag all forms of call spoofing by analyzing data before, during, or after the call, then delivering a threat-level analysis in milliseconds. This system enables businesses to take action faster when suspicious calls are detected and to validate real customers ensuring them a more positive customer experience.
According to Ian Roncoroni, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, the firm raised $5 million in a recent round of funding led by the Crystal Towers fund, bringing the total amount to over $11 million. He stated that this first significant financing will allow them to expand their team, service, and their dependable market.
Tikhon Bernstam, one of the fund’s founders said:
Next Caller’s unique approach to protecting highly sensitive information has made it the chosen solution for large financial institutions authenticating inbound calls. As a result, fraudsters that continue to move their attention to the call center after being stymied by EMV technology and other security advances are finding it harder to penetrate what’s traditionally been fertile ground for fraud.
Much of the startup’s success is attributed to their participation in TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield competition in 2013, where one of the judges that year, Jessica Livingston, encouraged the company to apply to Y Combinator (YC) – an American seed-funding program for startups. After being accepted by YC and becoming part of their internal network, Tikhon Bernstam discovered them, which led to the company’s latest round of funding.
So if you have an original and plausible idea for a startup, don’t wait any longer to enroll and pitch in the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield. It will most likely bring you benefits.
