Biometrics could fight insurance fraud

A Toronto-based managed services company is proposing the use of biometrics and other tools to combat insurance fraud, which it estimates costs the Canadian economy $10.73 billion a year. About half of that amount comes from health-care fraud alone at $5 billion, with auto insurance fraud following closely behind at $4 billion. Other forms of fraud include debit card, credit card and mortgage fraud, according to MakePlain.

Voice biometrics is a potential way of dealing with fraud. While the technology has been around for some time, its application in a call centre setting has only been possible in the last several years due to advancements in voice and data technology such as VOIP.

To use the technology, the company needs to record a baseline voice print using standard security questions such as an individual's mother's maiden name. That information is then stored in a database. Voice recognition technology is said to be about 70% accurate. MakePlain is also looking into voice risk analysis software that can detect if a person is lying.

The idea of a new-generation personal ID containing biometric data might fail, wasting the multi-million investment into its development. A group of British experts carried out a successful public experiment copying the data from a biometric passport's chip. The UK Parliament is now discussing whether three million biometric passports, already issued to UK citizens, should be withdrawn. Experts say that Russia's budget money allocated for the biometric passport programme is going down the drain as well.

Experts of a British group NO2ID, who criticise the idea of electronic passports, have publicly copied all personal and biometric data of the holders of three authentic IDs from their RFID-chips. Guardian newspaper writes that the hackers needed only 48 hours to process all three passports, and a device costing only $330. Thus, they proved that it is not so hard to feign, or copy, the chip of a new-generation passport.

The news about the drawbacks of new-generation IDs and about withdrawal of the already-issued passports might have global consequences, because hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated for the biometric ID project and almost spent worldwide. Great Britain, for instance, spent $114 million. According to some previously made estimates, $7 billion to $10 billion will be needed to install special ID chips into the passports of 700 million tourists moving from country to country every year.

The British High Commission in Malta has issued its first biometric visa to a non-EU citizen wishing to travel to the UK. The system uses fingerprint recognition technology and stores visa applicants' data on a centrally held database for cross-checking against previous applications.

"This is about making technology work for us," says Nick Archer, British High Commissioner to Malta. "There is great public concern about illegal migration to Europe, so it's vital that we have the best possible systems in place to help the bona fide visitor and guard against visa fraud. Biometrics gives us the means to improve our performance on both."

The latest roll-out of biometric visa technology follows a pilot by the UK in 11 countries to prove and test fingerprint matching systems. Countries involved in the original pilot were Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, The Netherlands, Vietnam and Democratic Republic of Congo. Embassies collected fingerprints, which were electronically matched against previous asylum and visa applications within 48 hours. The Commission says this processing time has now been reduced to 30 minutes.

Citibank, the world's largest provider of financial services for private customers, has introduced a biometric payment system for credit card holders in Singapore. Within the context of the bank's "Pay By Touch" offer owners of a "Clear Platinum Card" can pay bills in all shops and bars that participate in the scheme with their digital fingerprint.

The system was devised by the eponymous California-based Pay By Touch company, which according to its own statements has some 3.3 million registered customers. Citibank Singapore's "Clear Platinum Card" offer is targeted in particular at young Singapore residents aged 25 to 34.

In a select number of "In Shops" users who pay with their card (or their fingerprint) are frequently granted discounts. Having the requisite fingerprint templates made, a precondition for taking part in the "Pay By Touch" programme, can be done at several locations in Singapore. Upon enrolment each person is assigned a seven-digit number that later has to be given each time a person chooses to pay with his or her digits