CRANSTON — If you phone the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training to obtain unemployment benefits, don’t be surprised if you’re asked to repeat a certain phrase, such as “Good morning, Rhode Island” or “Good afternoon, my voice is my password.”

The phrases are part of a new voice authentication program that the agency began using yesterday to help combat fraud and protect people’s identity.

The automated phone program will ask you to repeat a certain phrase a few times. As you speak, the program will digitally record your voice.

That way, the next time you call for benefits, the agency will be able to verify that it’s actually you who’s calling.

The idea is to “ensure the integrity” of the state’s unemployment insurance program by preventing fraud, protecting the identity of the program’s beneficiaries, and reducing the amount of improper payments, said Raymond A. Filippone, assistant director of the state Department of Labor and Training who oversees unemployment insurance.

Rhode Island’s is the first state unemployment insurance program to implement the special program to verify the identity of beneficiaries when they call, Filippone said.

The agency began phasing in the program yesterday. Within a month or so, all beneficiaries will be taking part, said Laura Hart, the agency’s communications director.

About 21,000 people currently receive about $6.2 million in weekly unemployment benefits, Filippone said.

Under the current system, if you’re collecting unemployment benefits and want those benefits to continue, you must regularly call in to the agency’s automated phone system to affirm that you remain available to work and that you’re actively seeking work.

You’re asked a number of questions, and must provide your Social Security number and a specially assigned personal identification number as part of the process.

However, some beneficiaries — it’s not clear how many — ask a family member or friend to call for them and provide that person with their Social Security number and PIN.

This puts a beneficiary at risk for identity theft, Hart said.

It can also lead to fraud. For example, someone who’s in jail, or who has moved to another state to work, may have a family member or friend phone in to keep Rhode Island unemployment benefits flowing, Filippone and Hart said in an interview at the agency’s headquarters in Cranston.

Of the $222.7 million in unemployment benefits distributed last year, the agency estimates that about $1.4 million was the result of such fraud. “It’s a small amount, but it’s a critical amount,” Filippone said.

In general, if your claim for unemployment benefits is approved, you’ll have to take part in the voice-verification program when you phone in to certify for your first payment, Filippone said.

You’ll be given two phrases, and must repeat each of them three times. (The agency will make available phrases in English, Spanish and Portuguese, depending on which language you speak.)

When you phone in again, the system will compare your voice — your “voice print” — against the digital recording you made earlier.

The system includes some safeguards. For example, if the system records your voice, but doesn’t recognize it when you make a subsequent call — perhaps because you have a cold or have had dental surgery — you’ll be asked to speak again.

If the system still doesn’t recognize your voice, “It doesn’t mean … you’re not going to collect,” Hart said. Instead, you’ll be guided to a manual identification process through the agency’s call center staff, she said.

The agency will use the voice authentication system solely as a way to help verify your continued eligibility for unemployment benefits; no other agency or person will have access to your digitally recorded voice, Filippone and Hart said.

The agency used a $270,000 grant it obtained through the U.S. Department of Labor to upgrade the technology of its interactive voice response unit and put in place the new voice-verification software, they said.

The agency hired FDGS, a Denver company, to install the upgrade, using voice verification software from Nuance Communications Inc., a company in Massachusetts, Filippone and Hart said. No state funds, and no unemployment funds, were used, they said.

The agency recently notified beneficiaries by mail about the new system.

The agency distributes unemployment benefits each week. About 65 percent of beneficiaries choose to have their payments deposited directly into their bank or credit union accounts; about 35 percent have their payments loaded onto a special payment card, Filippone said.

The maximum weekly benefit is $528, not including additional amounts for dependents.

Information about unemployment benefits is available by calling (401) 243-9100 or using the agency’s Web site:

www.dlt.ri.gov

ndowning@projo.com