A Grisly Story of Stolen Digits

In the future envisioned in the film Minority Report, biometrics abound - security systems are based on biological features like eye scans, face recognition and fingerprints. Other films regularly have biometric locks protecting vaults and top secret control centres. Biometric security is not fiction though, it is already here, and not just in high-tech James Bond situations. Many countries are already using it at immigration desks, it protects peoples phones, and lots of makes of car have biometric ignitions. Biometrics are popular because it is so much harder to forge. PINs can be stolen or forgotten and cards or keys can also be lost, but your fingers and eyes go everywhere with you - or do they?

While having eye transplants as in Minority Report, to get round a lock is still a way off, and the even more extreme situation in Face-Off where Nicholas Cage and John Travolta steal each others identities with face transplants is even less likely, a grisly biometric theft has already happened. Carjackers in Malaysia, on finding the car they were stealing had a fingerprint recognition system to start the engine, cut off the tip of the owners finger and stole that too. Which makes you think twice about using biometrics, that don't require a living body attached!