Neustar To Buy TrustID To Boost Contact Center Fraud Prevention Prowess

Information service provider Neustar has agreed to purchase TrustID to strengthen its authentication and fraud prevention capabilities around outbound calling and clients using digital channels.

The Sterling, Va.-based company said its proposed acquisition of TrustID will better enable contact centers to automatically authenticate callers before their calls are answered. The Portland, Ore.-based company uses a patented approach that maximizes contact center efficiency and mitigates fraud to optimize the customer experience.

"Our combined authentication capabilities will enable enterprises to know who is on the other end of the phone, quickly and accurately," Robert McKay, Neustar's vice president and general manager of risk solutions, said in a statement.

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Combining Neustar's identity data with TrustID's authentication system will drive further efficiency within call centers by increasing the precision for risk stratification of non-authenticated inbound calls, according to TrustID CEO Patrick Cox.

"Our combined solutions will improve the customer experience, increase authentication rates, and remove additional friction through improved caller matching to existing CRM records using Neustar's AccountLink," Cox said in a statement.

TrustID's patented technology authenticates inbound callers quickly, accurately, and smoothly, according to the company, and strongly complements Neustar's outbound calling tool. The company's ability to quickly validate good consumers from possibly fraudulent ones fosters a better customer experience, Neustar said.

TrustID's services aligns well with Neustar's Risk Solutions, which the company said are designed to prevent fraud in outbound communications and prevent inbound call manipulation. Over time, TrustID's authentication technology will be extended to outbound calling use cases to enhance existing Neustar offerings that boost customer contact rates and engagement.

"By combining our solutions with TrustID, we will deliver more value to our customers, further enhance our market leadership, and welcome new employees with significant subject matter expertise and industry knowledge," Charlie Gottdiener, Neustar's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Neustar already serves many of the largest business-to-consumer (B2C) companies in the world, including more than 60 of the Fortune 100, the company said. These large call centers offer a channel for cross-selling TrustID's offerings, according to the company.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in January 2019, weren't disclosed. Neustar executives weren't immediately available for additional comment.

TrustID was founded in 2007, employs 19 people, and has raised $10.5 million in three rounds of outside funding, according to LinkedIn and CrunchBase. The company most recently hauled in $3.5 million from Rogers Venture Partners in February 2013.

The TrustID deal is Neustar's 22nd acquisition since being founded 22 years ago. Neustar most recently acquired Verisign’s Security Services business in October 2018.

In 2017, Neustar itself was purchased by San Francisco, Calif.-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.9 billion. Lisa Hook, Neustar's president and CEO at the time, said the buyout was expected to strengthen the company's market position as a leader in the marketing, risk, security and communication verticals.