Lambeth Council's benefits service is
usingVoice Risk Analysis(VRA) technology
to help tackle benefit fraud.
The pilot scheme is using software supplied by
Capita. The VRA technology measures slight fluctuations in the
human voice known as "micro-tremors", which can indicate attempts
to deceive.
The pilot is sponsored by the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and is part of a
national initiative to look at the effectiveness of the technology
in cutting fraud.
Claimants contacting the Lambeth call centre will be told they
are being interviewed using the technology, and will be asked a
series of 19 questions to test their responses.
Benefits staff can then ask for further evidence to support any
suspicious claims.
Councillor Jim Dickson, cabinet member for finance at Lambeth
Council, said, "I am delighted that Lambeth is piloting this new
technology to speed up the claims of honest claimants and cause
sleepless nights to benefit swindlers."
VRA technology is already used by the insurance industry to help
combat fraud.