The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

London council to use lie detectors to finger benefit cheats

Calling call centres is stressful already

Ensure Ease of Recovery with Asigra’s Agentless Software

Lambeth Council has done a deal with KPMG Capita* to use voice recognition software to finger cheats contacting call centres to sort out benefits.

Everyone contacting the centre will be told they are being scanned and will then be asked 19 questions."Voice Risk Analysis" will then finger voices it considers suspicious. The pilot is being paid for by the Department of Work and Pensions.

The technology supposedly works by detecting "micro-tremors" which, we are told, indicate not only stress but also "when stress is generated by an attempt to deceive".

Micro-tremors are present in normal relaxed speech but disappear when the subject is stressed and, it is assumed, lying. What impact the pain of dealing with a local authority call centre has on a person's voice is not yet clear.

VRA technology has been quite widely used in the US, along with full polygraph tests, but with mixed results. It was previously trialled by Harrow Council.

Lambeth claims the technology will not only detect fraud but also "cut bureaucracy" and allow genuine claims to be processed more quickly.

The pilot starts this autumn.

*A PR for Lambeth got in touch to explain the deal is with Capita not KPMG. Lambeth has signed a separate fraud contract with KPMG which was mentioned in the voice recognition press release.

The press release outlining the contract with KPMG is here. The release on voice recognition is not currently available on Lambeth's website.

®

Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery

Latest Comments

Can we please also lose

All the people complaining about the words used by the reg? Honestly, you've made a bad precedent with mobe and lappy.

Don't let boffin and finger go the same way.

0
0

Ridiculous

"What is this? 20 questions or summink?"

0
0
Anonymous Coward

Readers of AE van Vogt saw this coming ..

The lie detector in the "Nul-A" stories from A E van Vogt is call a Lambeth cone.

Coincidence, prediction or is someone in Lambeth reading a lot of SF?

:-)

0
0

More from The Register

Reg hack prepares to live off wondergloop Soylent
Our man puts eating people powder Food 2.0 to the test
Oracle's Ellison outlines plans for Hawaiian Electriclarryland
Solar-sourced eau d'Oracle the key to island revival
 breaking news
Who's to be the next Dr Who? Sherlock beats Maurice - says you
Cumberbatch EXTERMINATES Ayoade, Atkinson, Pegg - and Tilda Swinton
Chewbacca held up by TSA stormtroopers for having light sabre
'Mrauuun' 'Right, Chewie, giant man do need giant cane'
 breaking news
I told you I'd be back: Arnie set for another career revival
Don't worry voters, Schwarzenegger's talking about Terminator 5
Waving an Eye-of-Sauron pulsating mock cock? STOP IMMEDIATELY
Mains-powered sex aid recalled ... Ultimate O turns into ultimate OH NO
ROBOT COW teaches Saudi kids where milk comes from
Udderly ridiculous bovine intervention is beyond the pail
At #guardiancoffee, we can now TASTE THE FUTURE through a PRISM!
I have measured out my life in espresso spoons
Soylent days and soylent nights
Food 2.0 fails the post-pub nosh test
Google erases G8 venue from Earth: Microsoft doesn't
Cameron and chums to hold confab in empty field, apparently