Beginning this summer, taxpayers in the United States will be required to create an ID.me account if they ever need or want to access their data through the Internal Revenue Service website.
Unfortunately for many, creating a login for the famous online identity verification system could rapidly turn into a major headache due to the sophisticated multi-step (with an emphasis on the word “multi”) signup process required.
Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security recently led readers through the full method, and we, for one, are not looking forward to having to do the same at some point in the future.
Setups for multi-factor authentication (MFA), uploading of documents such as your driver’s license or passport, confirmation of your phone number, and a “live selfie,” among other things, are all part of the procedure. As for accidentally messing up any of it, may God have mercy on you!
Krebs was forced to upload even more formal papers as a result of the incident, and he even had to participate in a *shudder* live video conversation with an ID.me representative to validate his validity. At one point, he estimated that he would be waiting approximately 3.5 hours for the Zoom meeting from Hell… Yeah.
Read More: IRS Filing Deadline Is Early – Here’s Everything You Can Expect From Your Refund
Taxpayers, brace yourselves for the coming storm.
REMAINING CURRENT WITH THE TIMES — As much of a pain in the rear end as this will certainly be for a large number of Americans, you can’t entirely blame the IRS for going to quite severe lengths for the sake of security and privacy in this instance.
Considering that the Internal Revenue Service’s collaboration with Equifax was the victim of a catastrophic data attack in which the Social Security numbers, personal information, and financial records of 148 million individuals were stolen only 5 years ago, this is not surprising. After that, it’s hard to blame the IRS for becoming a little paranoid.
IS IT STILL NOT RIGHT WITH YOU? Of course, the fact that so much personal data and information is being consolidated within a third-party organization does not exactly fill us with enthusiasm for the whole affair.
Our best guess is that there were no viable alternatives for the IRS, but regardless of the outcome, it really just goes to show where we are in terms of internet privacy (and the capacity of unscrupulous actors to damage it).