With passcodes, fingerprint recognition, and facial recognition, we’d think our mobile phones are more secure than ever. But this might not necessarily be the case.
Last December, Huang, a man in China, reportedly unlocked his ex-girlfriend’s phone by putting her finger on her phone while lifting her eyelids to pass the facial recognition check — all while she was asleep.
He proceeded to steal S$33,000 (150,000 yuan) from her but was later sentenced to 3.5 years’ jail and fined S$4,300 (20,000 yuan).
In Dec 2020, the 28-year-old visited his ex-girlfriend, Dong, under the guise of returning the money he borrowed while they were dating.
According to VICE, Dong was sick at that time and Huang made her food and gave her flu medicine.
Dong fell asleep soon after. Huang then made his move, placing Dong’s finger on her phone and unlocking it.
Source
Following that, he lifted her eyelids to pass the facial recognition check and gained access to her Alipay payment app.
Huang then transferred S$33,000 (150,000 yuan) from Dong’s account to his own. He also changed her passcode, took her phone, and a coat.
Huang later used the money to fund his living expenses as well as pay off his gambling debts.
The next morning, Dong woke up and, using her other phone, noticed records of the unusual transactions.
She tried to contact Huang but to no avail and made a police report later in the day.
By this time, Huang had already fled to another city.
In April this year, the 28-year-old was located and arrested by the Chinese police, reported The New Paper (TNP).
Recently, the 28-year-old was sentenced to 3.5 years’ jail and fined S$4,300 (20,000 yuan) for his crime.
According to VICE, the case later went viral on Chinese social media as many discussed the security lapses of facial recognition checks.
To reinforce the system, some suggested that it’d be safer to turn off fingerprint as well as facial payment functions and stick to passwords instead.
Speaking to Yishou Video, an Alipay spokesperson said the company will offer compensation in rare cases of theft.
They also advised users to activate multiple locks to enhance their security.
While this is a rare case of theft, it certainly begs the question of how safe biometrics security systems are on our phones.
It’s especially important these days with many of us storing our credit card and bank information on these devices.
So while it is slightly troublesome, it might do us all well to activate the relevant safeguards to improve the security of our phones.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Daily Advent Nigeria.
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