Thieves Steal 10,000 Yuan From Sleeping Roommate Using Facial Recognition

In the age of technology, even crimes are getting more high-tech. Case in point: This incident in China where two men stole 10,000 yuan from their sleeping roommate, with the help of his phone’s facial recognition feature.

Shanghaiist reports that the crime took place in the city of Ningbo, where two restaurant workers stole their roommate’s phone as he slept. By pointing the device at his face, they ironically managed to use its facial recognition safety feature to crack into the phone. Once inside, they transferred 10,000 yuan (approximately Rs. 1 lakh) from his WeChat account and into their own.

Sina News reports that the man, surnamed Yuan, woke up the next day to find his money missing from his bank account and informed the police. A police investigation found his roommates, surnamed Liu and Yang, to be guilty of the theft.

Though the facial recognition feature is not supposed to work when a person’s eyes are closed, police investigation found that Yuan’s phone unlocked even when his eyes were shut.

Liu and Yang have now been arrested for the unusual robbery.