How I Rob Banks

Chapter 49How to Steal Fingerprints

Fingerprints are the most common biometric used for the last 10 years. But why do we insist on using them? In my opinion, fingerprints are not good for commercial-grade security systems, and I will get into those opinions later; but for now, we need to understand how they are used in office and commercial systems and how to bypass them. These techniques will work on common consumer systems, but I don't want to encourage you to try them without permission.

How do fingerprints work, I mean biologically? Well, your skin secretes oils 24/7; these oils collect in your fingers' ridges (whorls, arches, and loops). Look at your finger right now; see all those lines? Each line pumps out oil, and it fills the valleys between them.

Press that finger against glass or a shiny surface. See how it leaves a perfect mirror image of the lines on your finger? If that doesn't work or it's unclear, run your hands through your hair a few times and try again.

Now you have a lovely, crystal-clear fingerprint on a shiny surface. So what?

Well, let's say you use a fingerprint to access a door in your office. Offices below a certain level of security rarely have such systems, but some do. I have come across hundreds in my role, and almost always, they have a reader next to a door where a thumb or fingerprint is scanned, and the person is let in (or not).

Your fingerprint is not photographed and stored; no, that would take up a huge amount of computer memory, and it ...