"How can we be sure that the incoming phone calls are really from customers and not an overseas criminal intent on fraud?" This is one of the big concerns for most financial services companies. Pindrop Security, a company based on technology developed at Georgia Tech has developed a technology system - "acoustic fingerprint" as a solution to solve the phone fraud problem. Pindrop Security says "it can restore trust to the telephone network and help stem the tide of phone fraud" by using the "acoustic fingerprint" detection technique.

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The Pindrop Security's CEO, Vijay Balasubramaniyan, says: "We provide a way to detect, mitigate and stop phone fraud by identifying the characteristics of any phone call based on the device making it or the path the call takes. This information is useful in providing both forensic information about the call - whether it is from a landline, cell phone or voice-over-IP device - and the geography of the origin." Vijay Balasubramaniyan was also helped develop the technology as a Ph.D. student in the Georgia Tech College of Computing.

The company has also explains the "acoustic fingerprint" technique on its official website: "Our breakthrough acoustic analysis technology analyzes live or recorded call audio to determine caller location and calling device type. The technology creates a unique acoustic "fingerprint" that identifies each caller and can link them to other malicious activity - even if done using different phone numbers. Pindrop Security is helping financial institutions fight back against phone fraud."

According to the Georgia Tech's statement, "Pindrop is the second company arising from the Georgia Tech Information Security Center to attract venture capital funding. The first, Damballa, is a network security company launched in 2006 by College of Computing professors Wenke Lee and Merrick Furst."