Telephone fraud

Some telephone companies are starting to use voice verification for fraud prevention to verify the true identity of a caller.

Voice recognition systems let a caller talk to a computer. Voice verification for telephone cards works because a voice print is taken and stored on a computer when a calling card is issued. On a long-distance call, the subscriber must then say his or her name. If it is the voice of an imposter, the call does not go through. The system is claimed sensitive enough to recognize an individual's voice even with a cold. It is already in use by banks and stock broking houses to give rapid access to financial information to customers.

One Montreal-based telephone company is losing more than $250,000 a day in lost revenue and has cancelled calling-card service to the Caribbean because of abuse.