SO MUCH FOR ROBOTS

Wig-Wearing Jersey Guy Scammed Facial-Recognition Company Used by Feds Out of $900K, Authorities Say

The facial recognition software was dropped by the Internal Revenue Service just this week.

ID.me—which gathers hordes of data from millions of Americans, including through facial recognition and phone records—managed to get duped by a guy in New Jersey. Federal prosecutors said a New Jersey man used a large, curly orange wig to verify fake driver’s licenses from multiple states, allowing him to obtain $900,000 in federal unemployment funds from California. The revelation is a slap in the face of the company—which was contracted by 10 federal agencies and whose facial-recognition software was dropped by the IRS this week. It would not comment to The Washington Post on how the suspect was able to exploit its software to claim the funds, but said “the tactics of fraudsters are constantly evolving” and it “uses extensive analytics and models to prevent identity theft.” The company valued itself last year at $1.5 billion, while the suspect—Eric Jaklitsch—is in custody in California on wire-fraud charges.