Features
Recognizing Scalpers
Japanese electronics manufacturer NEC has developed a face recognition system that it is trying to sell to ticketing agencies as a way of confounding scalpers.
According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, one entertainment services company called Tapirs has started using the system. One of Tapirs’ services is managing fan clubs for major artists.
One problem the company constantly faces is scalpers who pretend to be fans of certain artists in order to become fan club members and gain access to special presales. Scalpers buy these tickets through the fan club system and sell them at inflated prices online or outside the venue the day of the show.
Tapir will use the NEC system to check the identities of fan club members with tickets at the venue. When a person registers as a member of a fan club, he or she is required to submit a photo.
When that person buys a ticket through the fan club service it will include a personal code. At the door on the day of the performance, when the person hands in a ticket, the person’s face is scanned by the NEC device and compared with the pre-registered photo. If the device doesn’t “recognize” the fan, entry is denied.
The system was tested successfully last summer at a concert for the popular idol group Momoiro Clover Z. NEC has sold a similar kind of system to the Ministry of Justice that is used at immigration booths in airports to register and screen foreigners entering Japan.