????銀行呼叫中心的話務員是優秀的審訊者，你叫什么名字？你的賬號是多少？你的社會安全號碼是多少？你母親的娘家姓是什么？當然，這樣做的目的是防止欺詐行為，但這沒有讓過程變得更方便。

????越來越多的公司正在尋找一種替代方案，以期解決所有惱人的問題。這些公司將放棄“審訊”，而使用一種對所謂聲紋（voice print）進行分析的技術來驗證客戶的身份。軟件將對呼叫者的語音跟存檔的樣本進行比較，在幾毫秒之內，系統就能判定呼叫者是擁有合法身份還是冒名頂替者。

????巴克萊銀行 （Barclay's）和先鋒集團（Vanguard）已經在面向一些客戶使用這種技術——它的正式名稱是語音生物識別技術——其他金融機構和諸如電話公司這類倚重呼叫中心的企業也在考慮當中。不過，這種技術能否被廣泛采用將取決于一些因素，比如客戶的操作簡易性，對防止欺詐的可靠性，以及技術成本。另外，客戶也要能習慣于這樣一種想法，即他們一生的積蓄和欺詐者之間只隔著自己的聲紋。

????“我認為公眾已經準備好了。”Enterprise Integration Group（EIG）公司的高級顧問蘇珊?奧斯汀說道，EIG是一家幫助企業規劃呼叫中心和技術的咨詢公司，“我不認為它會在未來幾年成為規范，但它會變得更加普遍?！?/p>

????語音生物識別技術已經誕生好幾年了，但在該技術得到改進以及欺詐者的手段變得日益復雜之后，各家公司才開始更加認真地看待它。移動設備的普及同樣增加了這種技術的魅力，舉例來說，當人們打電話查詢銀行賬戶余額時，在智能手機上輸入冗長的密碼并不是很方便。

????幾周前，巴克萊銀行開始逐步引入聲紋驗證技術，馬特?斯摩曼表示，該銀行此前的客戶服務很糟糕——斯摩曼是巴克萊銀行財富管理部門客戶體驗團隊的負責人。居高不下去的欺詐率讓該銀行損失大筆資金。此外，客戶在回答呼叫中心話務員拋出的各種問題時也存在困難。所有呼叫者中大約有10%會無法進入他們的賬戶，其中很多擁有合法身份。“顯然，我們的舊模式破產了，對此我們需要做一些事情。”斯摩曼在舊金山最近舉行的一次聲紋驗證技術專題會議上如是說。

????巴克萊銀行并非突然就決定引入語音生物識別技術。在上個月推出這種技術之前，該銀行進行了廣泛的測試。到目前為止，約有30,000名客戶簽署了使用協議，他們可以使用這套系統進行基本的查詢，比如檢查自己的賬戶余額，但無法進行轉賬或提款。

????Bank call center agents make good interrogators. What's your name? Your account number? Your Social Security number? Your mother's maiden name? Preventing fraud is, of course, the goal. But that doesn't make the process any more convenient.

????An increasing number of companies are looking at an alternative that would do away with all of the annoying questions. Instead of an interrogation, the companies would verify their customers' identity using technology that analyzes so-called voice prints. Software would compare callers' voices with samples on file. Within a few milliseconds, the system would determine whether the speaker is, in fact, legitimate or an imposter.

????Barclay's (BCS) and Vanguard are already using the technology, formally known as voice biometrics, with some customers. Other financial institutions and call center-intensive businesses like phone companies are considering it. Widespread adoption, however, will depend on factors like ease of use for consumers, reliability in preventing fraud, and the technology's cost. Consumers will also have to get comfortable with the idea of their voice prints being all that stands between their life savings and fraudsters.

????"I think the public is getting ready for it," said Susan Austin, senior consultant with Enterprise Integration Group, a consulting firm that helps businesses with their call center planning and technology. "I don't think it's going to be the norm in the next few years, but it will be more prevalent."

????Voice biometrics, as the technology is formally called, has been around for years. But companies are only now starting to take a more serious look following improvements in the technology and the increasing sophistication of fraudsters. The proliferation of mobile devices also adds to its allure. Entering lengthy passwords on smartphones isn't very practical when calling to get access to bank account balances, for example.

????Barclay's customer service was in bad shape before it started phasing in voice print technology a few weeks ago, said Matt Smallman, who leads the client experience team for Barclay's wealth management division. High fraud rates cost the company a lot of money. Moreover, customers were having trouble answering all the questions lobbed at them by call center agents. Around 10% of all callers, many of them legitimate, couldn't get into their accounts. "Clearly, our old model was broken, and we needed to do something about it," Smallman said at a recent conference in San Francisco focused on voice print technology.

????The company didn't decide on voice biometrics overnight. Extensive testing preceded the rollout last month. So far, about 30,000 clients have signed up. They can use the system to make basic inquiries like check their account balances, but not to transfer or withdraw money.