TAMPA, Fla. — You could call it ticket trickery.
A Tampa woman was arrested Thursday at Tampa International Airport for trying to use a ticket and ID that didn't belong to her, according to police.
Brittany Anderson, 38, is charged with fraudulent use of personal information.
According to the arrest report, Anderson told TSA agents that she'd been going through "rough times" back when her ID photo was taken and that's why she didn't look like her photo. However, using TSA facial matching technology, agents said they were quickly able to identify this was a case of stolen identity.
The Tampa Airport Police Department was called to investigate.
The report said Anderson eventually told TSA agents that she didn't want to use her ID because it was expired. She said she asked a friend to buy her a ticket under a different name so she could fly to Las Vegas. Tonight, we've learned that the stolen ID is from someone who is currently in jail. Anderson also had an active warrant out for her arrest in Pennsylvania.
Tonight, the quick work of TSA agents and their facial matching technology are credited with stopping this crime.
If you've flown in recent years, you've seen this technology at every security checkpoint. Agents ask you to place your ID in a box, stand in front of a camera, and in a matter of seconds the technology verifies your ID belongs to you and that you are flying on that day.
Regional TSA Spokesperson Mark Howell explained, "It is state-of-the-art technology where it's looking for features that match up both with the photo that is being taken and the photo presented on the identification."
The technology has been used at TPA since 2019, helping to eliminate human error and expedite the security process.
"If [the system] mismatches, the agent will do a manual check, and if it doesn't match we're going to get a supervisor involved to make a determination," Howell explained.
"This is a very rare instance where we have somebody who is trying to travel under someone else's identity, but this is exactly what this technology is made for," he explained.
Participation with the facial matching technology is optional, as is posted at every agent stop-point, but TSA said it is nothing to be wary of.
"Those photos are not stored. We do take some usage data from the machines, but those photos are not kept in a database or saved in any way," Howell added.