Tainan is to launch a pilot program starting next month that uses artificial intelligence-driven face identification technology at automated teller machines (ATMs) to bolster fraud prevention, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said yesterday.
Money mules hired by fraud gangs often use masks and motorcycle helmets to disguise themselves while making withdrawals or carrying out ATM transactions, Huang said.
Photo: Wang Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
People are currently not required by law to show their full faces while making withdrawals, creating a loophole that fraud rings have exploited, said Meng Chih-cheng (蒙志成), head of Tainan's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.
To get around that, the pilot facial recognition system to be installed at select ATMs would first "remind" people using a voice recording to take off their masks and helmets as it tries to identify the user, Huang said.
If after 10 to 15 seconds the system still cannot identify the user, an alarm is to sound that may draw the attention of people nearby or bank staff, and deter money mules from engaging in transactions, Huang said.
The system would still not prevent people from going through with transactions even if a face cannot be identified, Huang said, but he hoped it would have a deterrent effect.
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