Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent (CBP BPA) Practice Exam 2025 - Free Border Patrol Practice Questions and Study Guide

When biometric data does not match previous encounters, it is referred to as a mismatch hit. This occurs when an individual's biometric information, such as fingerprints or facial recognition data, does not align with what has previously been recorded in the system. This situation triggers alerts for further investigation, as it may indicate that the person has provided false identity information or that there is another underlying issue such as changes in the individual's biometric markers.

The other terms related to biometric processing serve different functions. A watchlist hit pertains to an individual being identified as someone of interest based on pre-existing data on a watchlist, typically for national security or law enforcement purposes. A control check involves verifying or examining something according to set protocols but does not specifically denote a biometric mismatch. A false positive arises when a system incorrectly indicates a match when one does not exist, which is a different context from a straightforward mismatch. Thus, a mismatch hit specifically addresses the failure for biometric data to correspond to prior records.