Portuguese 
Spanish 
Case Occurred in Community Committee in the City of Wenzhou Exposes Fraud in Attendance Records with Printed Masks, Receipt of Improper Aid and Unexpected Failures in Facial Recognition Systems.
Employees of a community committee in Wenzhou, in Zhejiang province, eastern China, are suspected of recording attendance with paper masks, bypassing facial recognition, receiving improper aid, and raising questions about the effectiveness of the system.
Organized Fraud to Register Attendance Without Showing Up for Work
Chinese media reported that employees allegedly used printed masks of their own faces to deceive the facial recognition system used for attendance control at the community committee.
According to the information released, one or two people recorded attendance on behalf of the entire group, while the others attended to personal matters outside the place of work.
-
Largest Mechanical Dredger in the Western Hemisphere Removes Nearly 80 Cubic Meters of Mud Per Cycle, Measures 77 Meters, and Operates Day and Night to Prevent Giant Ships from Getting Stuck in the Houston Ship Channel
-
California Opens Floodgates to Restore Wetlands and Create Natural Flood Protection in the Central Valley
-
US Mayor Goes Undercover as Homeless for a Week to Understand Rising Homelessness, Sparking Debate in His City
-
Teen from Brazil Turns School Snack Sales into Million-Dollar Confectionery Business Projected to Earn Nearly $1.9 Million in 2024
The scheme is said to have been led by the secretary of the community committee, a man with the surname Li, identified as responsible for organizing the fraudulent attendance records.
Discovery Occurred After Visible Failure in Surveillance System
It is unknown how many employees were involved or how the software was deceived by paper masks, but the fraud was revealed when security cameras captured the method employed above the facial scanner.
The images clearly showed printed cutouts being positioned in front of the system, exposing the limitations of the facial recognition used for attendance control.
The case raised questions about the reliability of technologies considered advanced, especially in a context of widespread use of automated systems in the country.
Community Committees and Receipt of Improper Aid
Community committees represent the most basic level of Chinese administrative governance, and their members are not public officials or formal employees.
Despite this, they receive financial aid, which constitutes illegal compensation in cases of deliberate absence and fraudulent attendance records.
Public Reaction and Criticism on Chinese Social Media
Weibo users expressed outrage over the incident. “This is corruption. Everyone should be fired and even prosecuted,” one internet user wrote on the platform.
Another user stated that “some of us have to work more than 10 hours a day, while others don’t even work eight hours,” comparing unequal work routines.
Besides the financial fraud, the episode drew attention for the fact that rudimentary masks had deceived an AI system, something that many readers considered surprising in a technologically advanced country.
