Lie detector tech to snare benefit cheats?

Benefit cheats could be caught out thanks to the introduction of new lie-detecting tech, according to the government.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) today announced a pilot of the technology by Harrow Council which will use voice risk analysis on would-be claimants to identify suspicious cases.

By analysing changes in callers' voices, the system will be able to indicated a level of risk and predict how likely the claim is to be fraudulent. Any callers flagged up as potential benefit cheats will then be asked to provide further evidence to support the veracity of their claim.

The use of voice stress analysis systems was first pioneered by the insurance industry to detect customers putting in bogus claims.

A sample of each claimant's voice is taken at the start of the call. Benefit agents will then question the claimants while the voice stress analysis will measure the speaker against their initial sample to see if changes in their voice might indicate the speaker is lying.

The pilot will see would-be claimants of housing benefit and council tax benefit put under the microscope from next month. Jobcentre Plus is also planning to experiment with the technology later this year.