Germany's Federal Employment Agency has announced plans to clamp down on bogus benefit claimants. In an interview with the mass-circulation Bild newspaper, board member Heinrich Alt said that if the agency came across inconsistencies in a welfare recipient's claim, its employees would first run a cross-check with other official bodies, but would, in extreme cases, reserve the right to make house calls. Alt says the aim is to keep to a minimum the number of people abusing the social security system, and the agency is planning to work closely with the tax office and health insurance companies in a bid to achieve this. At present, the policy is due to be implemented in October, but the new software to get the program up and running might not be ready in time, in which case it would be put back to January.