By Fred Gunn <flgunn@sbcglobal.net>
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/atmfacialrecognition09nov05.shtml
November 9, 2005

My wife recently got a new credit card and asked me to go get a cash advance from the ATM so we could buy some crystals and other assorted orgonite ingredients from a source that only takes cash.

Dutifully, I drove down to our bank, inserted the card, looked into the camera and smiled.

It asked me for the PIN number, which I entered. Then it asked me what I wanted to do? I pushed the button for cash advance. It then asked me for how much? I pressed the amount she had requested. Then it told me that it was experiencing technical difficulties, to try later.

Today she tried to use the credit card to purchase some items and the clerk tried twice but the charges were declined both times. He then called the number on the back of the card and the person (?) on the other line asked to speak with my wife. She got on the phone and after a few minutes she explained that it was indeed me, her husband, who had tried to take a cash advance from the ATM last night, and that she had authorized this. They told her that they declined the cash advance because it wasn't her making the transaction and had put a hold on her credit card account for her protection. After straightening things out, they released the hold on her card and she was able to complete her purchase today.

I started thinking then, hmmm....I know those cameras should only record transactions onto a tape and there are millions of customers so it's impossible to have live persons monitoring every ATM transaction worldwide, 24 hours a day. So how else would they immediately know to put up the "We're having technical difficulties" prompt on the screen? I put in the correct PIN number. I didn't request an unauthorized amount of cash advance. What's going on? And then I got it. There must be facial recognition software in the ATM systems.

It didn't recognize my face, and even though I input the correct PIN number, it rejected my transaction. Now hold on. My wife never submitted to any biometric photograph when she filled out the credit card application!!! Where did they get a biometric photograph of her for inclusion into her credit card account? They must have one, but she never authorized that. This is bizzare, to say the least. But not unexpected, for sure.

If anyone else has any other suggestions as to how they would know immediately who was requesting the ATM cash advance transaction via video camera feed without a 24 hour live person monitoring every transaction, please let me know.

I did a quick search on the internet and came up with this statement on potential uses for facial recognition software:

"Potential applications even include ATM and check-cashing security. The software is able to quickly verify a customer's face. After the user consents, the ATM or check-cashing kiosk captures a digital photo of the customer. The FaceIt software then generates a faceprint of the photograph to protect customers against identity theft and fraudulent transactions. By using facial recognition software, there's no need for a picture ID, bank card or personal identification number (PIN) to verify a customer's identity."

The above is from the following link:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/facial-recognition3.htm

Note the red highlighted part of the paragraph above..."After the user consents..." Hey, there was no consent given by my wife to this security measure.

And another statement here:

"At least that's the theory behind InnoVentry, a San Francisco-based firm that operates self-service check cashing machines in supermarkets, convenience stores and Las Vegas casinos. InnoVentry never asks you to keep track of an automatic teller machine card or remember a PIN. As you approach the ATM, it scans your face and matches it with a file photo. The company has compiled a database of 330,000 customer faces over the last two and a half years."

The above is from the following link:

http://www.biometricgroup.com/in_the_news/forbes.html

Again, my wife has never submitted to a biometric scan of her face.

So why are they doing this already without people's consent? I'll tell you why...

Peace,

Fred
_________________
"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or as a curse." ~ Don Juan Matus

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