Fingerprint Scams Are Being Used Instead of Cash; Government Can Use Your Cell Phone Microphone to Eavesdrop on You and GPS to Track You

Vending Machines Take Finger Scans Instead of Cash

August 24, 2009

singularityhub.com - The day has arrived where all the money in the world is at your finger tips. Or rather, all the money in your credit card is in your finger veins. Biometric scanners are popping up everywhere, and now Hitachi has debuted the first vending machine that will accept a finger scan instead of cash or coins. By linking the scan to a credit card account, customers can simply place their finger in the machine and purchase whichever snack goods they desire most. It’s probably the best reward you’ll ever get for giving a vending machine the finger.

The biometric sensor in Hitachi’s new vending machine uses light to scan and read the number and orientation of veins in your finger tip without directly touching a sensor. This provides a unique code for access to a credit card account that has to be established independently of the vending machine. While the machine is only a prototype, and Hitachi hasn’t yet decided whether or not to make a commercial version, the concept itself is more than enough to be causing a buzz. It’s far from the first use of a biometric sensor, but it has the potential to be the most commonly seen application of the technology.

Even if the vending machine industry doesn’t jump on Hitachi’s band wagon, the biometric sales option is ready to be explored. With credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard already providing a “tap and pay” system for cards, consumers may become more confident with payments that don’t require signatures or even human-human interaction. This means that finger scans could very well become a break-out technology. If you’re willing to tap a card, why not just point your finger instead?

With biometrics looking to identify you through your ear, or even your brain, the finger vein technology from Hitachi seems like a more acceptable option. It will be interesting to see if the concept of linking credit cards to a biometric scanner becomes widely popular. Perhaps it will be adopted somewhere else. iTunes? Kindles? Pay toilets?

No Cash? Elyria High Students Can Pay with Their Finger

August 18, 2009

The Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) - For lunch Monday, Elyria High School served up pepperoni pizza to the students who came back for the first day of classes. But instead of students handing over cash, some placed their index fingers on small scanners and walked away with their lunches.

“I’m just really glad I don’t have to remember a number every day or have a card or something,” said 14-year-old Korey Gallaher. “All you have to do is put your finger down and go.”

With the start of the new school year well under way at the high school, a new lunch system is being piloted that will use student fingerprints instead of cards or personal identification numbers to access lunch accounts.

“As long as there is money in my account, I won’t have to worry about anything,” said 14-year-old Stephanie Nieves. “It’s going to make lunch that much easier.”

As of Monday, just the freshman class is using the fingerprint program, but by this time next week the entire student body — roughly 2,100 students — and staff will have a scan of their index fingers on file.

“When it’s really up and running it will make things go a lot smoother and faster,” said Bill Jett, general manager of Sodexo, the district’s food service provider.

At a cost of roughly $91,000, Sodexo will pick up the tab to implement the program districtwide with the hope of recouping expenses over the next five years as more parents sign their children up for free or reduced lunches. The added advantage of the biometrics system is no one knows who receives free or reduced lunch or who has to pay for their meals.

There are still a few kinks to work out with the system as the small scanners located near all cash registers failed to recognize some fingerprints, prompting students to revert back to the old system of keying in personal identification codes. Still, for those who used the new system, it was pretty cool.

“The technology is already out there for us to use biometrics in a number of ways,” said Principal Darren Conley. “In the future, we are looking at adding it to the media center for signing materials out or in the classrooms for attendance”...

Government Can Eavesdrop on You Even When Your Cell Phone Is Turned Off

June 17, 2009

Fox News - Using your cell phone's tracking device and microphone, the government can eavesdrop on your conversations even if your cell phone is turned off. The only way around it is to remove your phone's battery.

Smartphone Tracks User Interests, Habits, Finances, Location

March 11, 2009

The International Herald Tribune - The millions of people who use their cellphones daily to play games, download applications and browse the Web may not realize that they have an unseen companion: advertisers that can track their interests, their habits and even their location.

Smartphones, like the iPhone and BlackBerry Curve, are the latest and potentially most extensive way for advertisers to aim ads at certain consumers... Advertisers will pay high rates for the ability to show, for example, ads for a nearby restaurant to someone leaving a Broadway show, especially when coupled with information about the gender, age, finances, and interests of the consumer.

Eswar Priyadarshan, the chief technology officer of Quattro Wireless, which places advertising for clients like Sony on mobile sites, says he typically has 20 pieces of information about a customer who has visited a site or played with an application in his network.

“The basic idea is, you go through all these channels, and you get as much data as possible,” he said.

The capability for collecting information has alarmed privacy advocates. It's potentially a portable, personal spy," said Jeff Chester, the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, who will appear before Federal Trade Commission staff members this month to brief them on privacy and mobile marketing.

He is particularly concerned about data breaches, advertisers' access to sensitive health or financial information, and a lack of transparency about how advertisers are collecting data.

"Users are going to be inclined to say, sure, what's harmful about a click, not realizing that they've consented to give up their information" ...