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Customs Agents Use New Facial Recognition Technology to Nab Impostor at Airport

It was just the third day of operation for a new facial comparison biometric system now being used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Washington Dulles International Airport when a man presenting a French passport was discovered to in fact be from Republic of Congo.

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It was just the third day of operation for a new facial comparison biometric system now being used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Washington Dulles International Airport when a man presenting a French passport was discovered to in fact be from Republic of Congo.

A 26-year-old man traveling from Sao Paulo, Brazil presented a French passport to the CBP officer conducting primary inspections, according to Homeland Security Today. The agency's new facial comparison biometric technology confirmed the man was not a match to the passport he presented.

Upon further inspection, his authentic identification was located in his shoe.

"Facial recognition technology is an important step forward for CBP in protecting the United States from all types of threats," said Casey Durst, CBPā€™s Director of the Baltimore Field Office. "Terrorists and criminals continually look for creative methods to enter the U.S. including using stolen genuine documents. The new facial recognition technology virtually eliminates the ability for someone to use a genuine document that was issued to someone else."

The impostor intercepted at Washington Dulles International Airport was the first impostor detected using the new technology.

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