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Ask HN: Mobile carrier asked me to look at the camera and blink 3 times

2 points by rodolphoarruda ↗ HN
I went to the carrier shop this morning to buy an extra SIM card. After providing my ID and the usual information, the attendant asked me to look at his phone's camera for a second and then "blink three times". I felt really shocked, especially thinking about my privacy (I haven't signed anything up to that point). I asked the attendant about the photo, he said "I don't know, it's our procedure."

Does anyone know what that photo is for? What about the blinking? Why 3 times?

4 comments

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anigbrowl
Well, did you comply? And where was this? Very interesting but needs a lot more detail.
rodolphoarruda
I was in a hurry, so I did. But it was really annoying -- to the point I decided to share it here in HN. I'm in Brazil.
ritic
Sounds like it could be for facial recognition? I'd imagine the blinking was to ensure they have variations of your normal facial features in different states for comparison. This idea also applies to why they asked you to do it 3 times. Why a mobile carrier would require this, I have no idea. I suppose it also depends on government overreach where you are located.
rodolphoarruda
I spoke about this to a friend who is a lawyer. He told me this might be to protect the carrier against bad customers who maliciously claim they didn't purchase the service in the first place, pretending it had been done by a fraudster using their personal info. A scam that allows them free Internet for ~45days until the carrier decides to call on the 1st outstanding bill. Apparently, a still picture of the customer in the shop wasn't a strong proof of presence, so they decided to make a short video (or GIF) instead.