Do you know sharing a selfie snapshot of yourself with a pose where you did the V sign or peace finger sign could lead to your identity being stolen? This might sound crazy but it is dead true! In case you are wondering what we mean by this, here is the gist.

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Chinese authorities have started warning the public that displaying the V-sign in a photo snapshot, may put you at risk of identity theft. The V sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted, while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the cultural context and how it is presented. It is a very popular pose pattern for persons in Chinese photo shoot.

Now, the authority is warning that your fingerprints can be extracted from these images and used to gain access to your personal accounts. This is only possible, though, in situations where the use of fingerprint identification is enabled to unlock your online accounts.

How it all works has been demonstrated in December 2014 by a cyber-security expert, Jan Krissler who alleged he successfully digitally cloned the fingerprints of Germany’s defence minister. The hacker was able to achieve this feat by grabbing the target’s photograph shot during a press conference and then using commercial software to replicate it.

Read Also: Huawei P10 Renders & Specs Feature in Fresh Leak

A lot of flagship smartphone enthusiasts look forward to having the NFC feature on their favorite new releases. This is because of the “secure” fingerprint features the NFC offers. Now we know better, it is very well advisable to store your password as numbers in your head. It is sure safer up there.

(source)