What is going on with logging in to Social Security? The process is ridiculous.
 

I had not tried to log in to Social Security for a long time, until about an hour ago. I never made it because the process is a convoluted mess. It now requires that govID thing or whatever it is called.

I could not believe it was asking me to take a picture of myself with my driver's license. It is supposed to be some kind of new authentication add-on. Sending a code to my phone was not enough. Now it wants me to take a picture of myself and send it to them. How creepy.

How can putting even more information online be more secure? Is this supposed to be the latest, greatest, state-of-the-art security? If so, why is it still asking us to check those stupid boxes with pictures in them to prove we are not robots?

All I wanted was my 2025 statement. It was easy to get to the last time I looked. I probably printed it then but can't find it now.

I thought maybe it was just me, so I asked Google and found out I am not the only one ranting about this. I backed out because it does not feel secure to me. Adding two more pieces of information to a system that could be ripe for hacking makes me wary.

Does anybody know how to return to getting annual statements in the mail?

I miss the last century. Almost every day, I find myself quoting Dorothy Parker who was said to answer her door or phone by saying, "What fresh hell is this?" I don't say it to phone calls or visitors, but I say it when I turn on the computer and see what's new.

Boomer

Did you try the green button that says - ID.me? I believe that's how I signed in the other day.

But, I know what you mean about the blue button - Login.gov. I tried to sign-in to my IRS acct a few days ago and had never complete that process you described because it irked me too. Why should I have to get my phone involved with my account? Taking photos of Dr Lic and of myself to upload -- WTH?

Go back on the site and click this link - Sign in Help and Support - below the login buttons to see that provides some info..

P.S. Also a big Dorothy Parker fan.

It is a nightmare trying to log in! It is about a four factor authentication!

In order to sign in, my wife had to take a picture of her driver’s license (both sides) and then take a selfie. It kept telling us that the photos did not match!!!

I remember when I first created the account the password had to be about 16 digits!

I would suggest calling them first thing in the morning. You may be on hold but they give you the option of having them call you back. I tried that about a month ago and it works. It was about an hour wait but I didn’t have to listen to that terrible music for an hour.

I have no problem logging in with my id.me account. I also use that on the IRS site to pay estimated taxes.

Don't worry about your picture. The government already has that from driver licenses and passports. They even have my retinal scan and fingerprints from my Global Entry Card.:rant-rave:

Over 7 months we received warnings about the change of logins for SS, and other government sites. Not a big deal you have 3 options to use.

This extra work to access an account is an attempt to be sure who it is that is typing at the other end of the keyboard.

- Providing a SS number will identify an account and a name
- A picture of a Govt ID will associate a face to the name
- A picture of the back side of the Govt ID is an extra attempt to defeat fake IDs
- A picture of you will associate a face to the person typing at a keyboard
- If the face in the picture matches the face on the ID then there is some confidence of who is actually typing
- If they ask for you to hold the Govt ID in your picture then they are trying to prevent someone who is not you from simply gathering pictures for the process

All of that is to prove that the person behind the keyboard is truly the person who owns the SS number that is being accessed. It's a pain in the butt to create but it's a pretty secure way to ensure the proper person is accessing the account.

This time you only wanted to get your statement but next time you might be trying to change the bank account the payments are going into. As the owner of my account, I am thankful that there is this level of security making sure that any changes are authorized.

Global Entry uses facial recognition, not retinal scans.

We're from the government and we're here to help you.

login.gov uses two-factor authentication. It takes no longer than any other login that uses 2FA.

Did the system change? It was some sort of eye scan. I had to remove my contact lenses for the scan.

I had to go through the same thing years ago since I held government contracts. When SSA went to the same system it was a little easier to adjust.

Probably an iris scan, not a retinal scan, for the NEXUS system. Every time I go through Global Entry they are doing facial recognition.

I use ID.ME. If you have problems, call SSA up for help.

Both login.gov and id.me are quick to use once they are set up. I believe the OP was having difficulty setting up id.me in the first place.

From reading pages comparing the two, it appears that login.gov is easier to set up initially. ID.me requires a picture of an ID to verify identity while the pages say login.gov uses some other technique.

The OP should try creating a login.gov account to see if that is easier for him.

Yes, I just found the old card and it was NEXUS.