 TITLE: Can Facial Recognition Technology Protect You From Fraud? CONTENT: Is Facial Recognition Safe?\n---------------------------\nAlthough facial recognition can provide more security than a simple passcode or a fingerprint scanner, it has some weaknesses.\nFor starters, not all applications are created equally. Apple, for instance, creates a 3D map of your face using an infrared camera, dot projector and flood illuminator. This system effectively foils those who would try to use a 2D picture of you to gain access to your phone and private accounts.\nOn the other hand, a consumer protection organization in the Netherlands, Consumentenbond, tested 110 different smartphone models and 42 of them unlocked with a good photo of the user.\nNo technology is infallible, after all, and some have begun to exploit the flaws found in facial recognition systems. Experian found that scammers can create \"Frankenstein faces\" using artificial intelligence to combine the facial features of multiple people to form a new identity. This form of synthetic fraud, which combines real and fake information to create an identity, complicates matters for businesses that rely on facial recognition technology to prevent fraud.\nSynthetic fraud shouldn't necessarily cause you much worry as far as your use of facial recognition technology is concerned, but there are other ways it can affect you. Since synthetic fraud uses both real and fake data to create a new fraudulent identity, your personal information—including your Social Security number—may get caught up in the growing scheme. That's why it's important to think about identity protection in an all-encompassing way. END