• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, October 10, 2013

Oakley, Vizio and Ann Inc. are now using Big Data and real-time reporting to not only target consumers online but protect them from fraud, such as online credit card theft. Those three companies are the first named users of WhitePages' PRO platform for businesses, which was released Thursday and is intended to verify user identities online before transactions occur.

A WhitePages representative said that people trying to put through transactions using credit cards they don't own is a problem for online retailers. It even has its own name: "Card not present transactions."

The platform uses a "Contact Graph" designed by WhitePages. The Contact Graph is a data hub that connects people, addresses and various cell and landline phone numbers. As a consumer checks out online, the platform uses the Contact Graph to grade the validity of the customer's identity on a scale from A to D.

"A consumer has gone through the checkout process at an online retailer, and once all of the data is captured, PRO analyzes the customer contact data in real-time, filtering it through their Contact Graph," a WhitePages rep explained to Online Media Daily. "Then the identity score is provided to the merchant (in real-time), so they can assess which step to take next."

Per the company, a high score means the customer data is accurate and can signal the next action for the retailer is to approve the transaction. A low score means the retailer may want to review the data and transaction before putting the sale through.

The rep added: "I could have gotten your credit card info and tried to buy something, saying I was you. Often, the address/phone number or other piece of contact information is wrong, which WhitePages can determine and flag it."