At the end of a boring article about Acting Commissioner Colvin's visit to some Social Security offices in Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune relates a nugget of information. Social Security's online system "is so complicated and security so tight that about 25 percent of users
who attempt to log on are not able to successfully access their accounts."
Okay, so let's loosen up the security and make it more vulnerable. The "difficult" part can be bypassed by visiting the field office in person in most cases. Too much security, too inconvenient, blah blah blah.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a misunderstanding by the reporter - 25 percent can't get past the initial authentication screening based on credit reports to SET UP a My Social Security account. They have to visit a field office or call the 800 number to do that.
ReplyDeleteYes, logging in just requires a username and password. It's the initial account set-up which is likely where 25% fail (and some of them might just decide it's not worth the trouble). I think security should be reasonably tight (it's been a long time since I set up my account, so I don't remember how difficult it was).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the SSA website had a reminder on it that tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.
When they call on the phone they can't even recall their last address. So how on earth are people like that going to pass Experian's check?
ReplyDeleteWe really can't do much for them on the phone at the call centers otehr than refer them to their local FO. Helps make a crappy job even more so.
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