Fake fingerprint fools biometric devices

Japan saw its first case of biometric fraud come to light when they arrested Lin Rong, a 27-year old Chinese woman, on account of her faking a marriage to a Japanese man.

BBC reports that the police noticed peculiar scars on the woman’s fingers. Further investigation into the matter discovered that she had plastic surgery during which the fingerprints of her left and right hand’s thumbs and index fingers were swapped, with the purpose of tricking biometric checks carried on by the immigration control.

She did so because she had been previously deported from Japan for overstaying her visa. The police said that the surgery cost her $15,000 and was performed in China. They also believe that this practice is not so uncommon, which raises the question of security not only for Japan, but any other country that fingerprints visitors.