The Whims Of Government; No Text-Enabled Cell Phone, No Access To On-Line Social Security Account; Want To Vote? Just Give Us A Name, Any Name Will Do -- July 30, 2016

The federal government and the courts seem not to worry about identify theft when it comes to voting -- "no photo IDs required" seems to be the "rule."

But when it comes to access Social Security on-line, one needs to have a smart phone, or at least a text-capable phone as of August 26, 2016. Those of us, without a text-enabled phone, will not be able to access our on-line social security account.

From the SSA yesterday:

Starting in August 2016, Social Security is adding a new step to protect your privacy as a my Social Security user.

This new requirement is the result of an executive order for federal agencies to provide more secure authentication for their online services.

Any agency that provides online access to a customer’s personal information must use multifactor authentication.

When you sign in at ssa.gov/myaccount with your username and password, we will ask you to add your text-enabled cell phone number.

The purpose of providing your cell phone number is that, each time you log in to your account with your username and password, we will send you a one-time security code you must also enter to log in successfully to your account.

Each time you sign into your account, you will complete two steps: Step 1: Enter your username and password. Step 2: Enter the security code we text to your cell phone (cell phone provider's text message and data rates may apply).

The process of using a one-time security code in addition to a username and password is one form of “multifactor authentication,” which means we are using more than one method to make sure you are the actual owner of your account.

If you do not have a text-enabled cell phone or you do not wish to provide your cell phone number, you will not be able to access your my Social Security account.

And since "data rates may apply," I guess a type of "poll tax" has been placed on those who want to access their account on line.