A mother was wrongly accused of being a thief in Sports Direct after the store's facial recognition cameras flagged her. Anamaria Mihai was shopping with her young daughter at the Woolwich branch when she noticed staff following her. She jokingly said, 'You are following me,' but the manager allegedly shouted back, 'Yes, because you are a thief.'
False Accusation
Anamaria told Metro she felt humiliated. 'I wanted to die on the spot. He was loud and aggressive and acted like I was the biggest criminal. I just broke down in tears,' she said. The store's Facewatch system had flagged her for allegedly stealing a pair of shoes last year, which she denies.
Facewatch Technology
Facewatch is used by retailers like Sainsbury's, River Island, and Home Bargains, claiming 99.98% accuracy. However, errors occur. In February, Metro reported that Warren Rajah was wrongly escorted out of a Sainsbury's after being misidentified. Anamaria's case may be the first where someone was allegedly added to the system by mistake.
Demanding Evidence
Anamaria asked Sports Direct for photo evidence. She was told to send her passport, then received a close-up image of her leaving the same store last August. That day, she had spent £80 on Converse trainers for her daughter, who wore them out while carrying old shoes. She said, 'A staff member saw this and thought I had stolen the Pumas, so they put me on the system. There were no checks; I was guilty until proven innocent.'
Aftermath
She was later removed from the system. Sports Direct offered a £30 voucher as apology, but she rejected it and says she never wants to return. Sports Direct declined to comment. Facewatch spokesman Eric Woollard-White said, 'As soon as Facewatch was made aware, the matter was reviewed, and the relevant data was removed. The customer is no longer on the system.'
Privacy Concerns
Jasleen Chaggar from Big Brother Watch said, 'It's the stuff of Kafkaesque nightmares to be trapped in a maze of bureaucracy and forced to hand over even more personal data just to be told the accusation. The idea that we are all one facial recognition mistake away from being falsely accused of a crime should send a shiver down the spine.'
