Selfie fingerprint scam is real, some AI experts warn | Latest Tech News
Siege of the selfie?
Panic is building amid social media claims that hackers can now use AI to extract fingerprints from posted pics of people innocently flashing peace indicators.
The alarm appears to have originated from a Chinese tv section that aired this April.
The clip in query options financial professional Li Chang demonstrating how taking a peace-sign selfie may go away you susceptible to hackers who may steal your prints and use them for identification theft, phishing assaults, and to gain access to personal accounts.
A financial professional demonstrated how taking a peace-sign selfie may go away you susceptible to hackers who may steal your prints and use them for identification theft, phishing assaults, and to gain access to personal accounts. mimagephotos – stock.adobe.com
The section confirmed fingerprint ridges turning into seen after the image was enhanced with photo-editing software program and AI instruments.
Chang emphasised the hazard, explaining that while passwords may be modified or reset, biometric data such as fingerprints and voice can’t, leaving victims completely susceptible.
“The threat is real, underappreciated, and accelerating,” Bryan Lopez, a cybersecurity and AI technology chief at Microsoft, told Newsweek.
“What previously required forensic laboratory resources is now within reach of motivated, non-specialist actors,” he continued.
While uncommon, there have been incidents of fingerprints being pulled from photos.
In 2014, hacker Jan Krissler — also recognized, inexplicably, as “Starbug” — announced that he used a close-up photograph of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s thumb, along with other photographs taken from numerous angles during a press event, to recreate her fingerprint.
“High-resolution cameras now capture sufficient fingerprint ridge detail that AI-assisted reconstruction tools can produce workable biometric templates from social media images,” said Lopez.
While pulling prints is theoretically attainable, other experts preserve it is unbelievable.
“This sounds like the stuff out of spy novels or ‘Mission Impossible’,” Vyas Sekar, an electrical and laptop engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told CBS News.
According to Sekar, to execute the scam, a hacker would need access to the bodily scanner that unlocks with your fingerprint.
While pulling prints is theoretically attainable, other experts preserve it is unbelievable. MdEmajuddin – stock.adobe.com
Further, he shared that the average individual is unlikely to be the sufferer of a fingerprint scam, as hackers would need to be “fairly determined” to execute such a plan and are more possible to focus their efforts on a “high-value target” like a filthy wealthy individual or somebody with access to a high-security facility.
Still, Sekar admits that there is some risk.
“In theory, it’s possible, especially if people are posting high-resolution images,” he said.
In the curiosity of preventive strategy, experts have outlined 4 methods to shield your self and your prints from falling into doubtful arms.
Primary among these is avoiding posting high-resolution photographs of your arms, significantly pics that clearly show particulars of your fingertips or palms.
In addition, experts preserve that multi-factor authentication, which makes use of more than just your fingerprint, presents extra safety if biometric data is compromised.
Officials also underscored the significance of reviewing privateness settings on social media platforms and limiting who can view your personal photographs, thereby lowering the probability that scammers gain access to photographs that may include biometric particulars.
Finally, of us are suggested to monitor their bank accounts and to report any suspicious exercise immediately.
According to the FBI, cyber scams have skyrocketed in latest years, with digital fraudsters stealing $16 billion from Americans in 2024 — a 33% increase from the earlier yr.
Elderly people have been the most common victims, with lmost 30% of whole financial losses from people over 60.
The most common scam — with around 193,000 complaints — was phishing/spoofing, in which somebody makes use of a false identification to persuade people to share their personal particulars. Common phishing scams embrace pretend toll payments, package deal supply notices, or billing statements.
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