1. A method of authenticating users to reduce transaction risks, said method comprising: storing biometric authentication data and personal data for each of a plurality of authorized users in an authentication system, and storing protected resources in a server, wherein each of the protected resources is associated with at least a corresponding one of the plurality of authorized users, the authentication system is different than the server, and the server is included in a first communications channel; indicating a desire to conduct at least one transaction, determining whether the at least one transaction requires access to the protected resources, and when the at least one transaction requires access to protected resources inputting information in a workstation, wherein a workstation user performs said indicating and inputting operations at the workstation; determining whether the inputted information is known and determining a state of a communications device when the inputted information is known; transmitting a biometric authentication request from the server over the first communications channel to the authentication system when the state of the communications device is enrolled; extracting a level of risk from the biometric authentication request; determining a biometric authentication data requirement corresponding to the extracted level of risk by consulting an authentication policy including policy levels of risk associated with biometric authentication data requirements, comparing the extracted level of risk against the policy levels of risk, and determining the biometric authentication data requirement to be the biometric authentication data requirement that corresponds to the policy level of risk that matches the extracted level of risk; generating a biometric authentication data capture request in response to the biometric authentication request, and transmitting the biometric authentication data capture request from the authentication system to the communications device, wherein the communications device is associated with one of the plurality of authorized users and the one authorized user is associated with the inputted information; validating the communications device; verifying that the at least one transaction is pending; obtaining the biometric authentication data capture request transmission, capturing biometric authentication data in accordance with the biometric authentication data capture request from the workstation user with the communications device, and transmitting the captured biometric authentication data from the communications device to the authentication system over a second communications channel; validating the identity of the user by comparing the captured biometric authentication data against biometric authentication data of the one authorized user stored in the authentication system; generating a one-time pass-phrase, storing the one-time pass-phrase on the authentication system and transmitting the one-time pass-phrase to the communications device over the second communications channel when the workstation user is authenticated as the one authorized user; obtaining the one-time pass-phrase from the communications device and entering the one-time pass-phrase into the workstation; transmitting the one-time pass-phrase from the workstation to the authentication system over the first communications channel, and comparing the transmitted one-time pass-phrase against the stored one-time pass-phrase; and granting access to the protected resources of the one authorized user when the transmitted and stored one-time pass-phrases match.
5. The method of authenticating users in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said entering the one-time pass-phrase operation comprises one of entering the one-time pass-phrase manually and entering the one-time pass-phrase automatically by transmitting the one-time pass-phrase to the workstation from the communications device.