Archive · 10 Dec 2025
Chinese Workers Use Printed Masks to Fool Facial Recognition
Some workers in China found a clever way to trick their office's face-scanning machine.
They printed pictures of their coworkers' faces on masks and used them to make it look like those coworkers were at work, even when they weren't.
This made people online very angry because it seems unfair, especially in a country where many people work very long hours.
The workers' jobs involve helping people in their community, and some think they shouldn't have to use a machine to check in since they're often out visiting people.
The government is looking into what happened and will give an answer by the end of the year.
This also made people wonder if face-scanning machines are really reliable, since they can be tricked with cheap printed masks.
Employees at a neighbourhood committee office in Wenzhou, China, used printed face masks to bypass the facial recognition attendance system.
The masks were made with high-quality images of colleagues' faces, allowing one person to check in multiple employees.
The incident was reported by a resident surnamed Li, who provided surveillance footage as evidence.
The controversy sparked public outrage online, with many criticizing the act as unfair and corrupt.
Some argued that neighbourhood committee members should not be required to use an office-based attendance system due to their community-based duties.
The government has promised to respond to the incident by December 31, reigniting questions about the reliability of facial recognition machines.
- Who
- Employees at a neighbourhood committee office in Wenzhou, China
- What
- Used printed face masks to bypass facial recognition attendance system
- When
- Reported in October, with government response promised by December 31
- Where
- Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China
- Why
- To clock in multiple employees as present without them being physically present
- Location
- Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China
- Involved Party
- Neighbourhood committee office employees
- Method Used
- Printed face masks with colleagues' images
- System Bypassed
- Facial recognition attendance system
- Reporting Source
- Resident surnamed Li
- Government Response Deadline
- December 31
- Cost of Masks
- 10 to 40 yuan (US$1.40-$5.60)