IRS Website to Require 'Live Selfie' to Log In
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is set to change the way online accounts are accessed this summer, with the new system requiring biometric data in the form of your face.
Personal IRS.gov accounts let taxpayers access and view their tax history, but as KrebsonSecurity reports, existing login credentials for IRS.gov will stop working later this year. In November, the IRS decided to switch to the ID.me online identity verification service by mid-2022, which requires a lot of personal information to prove your identity.
A message on the IRS sign-in page confirms the coming change: "If you have an existing IRS username, please create a new ID.me account as soon as possible. We're bringing you an improved sign-in experience. You won't be able to log in with your existing IRS username and password starting in summer 2022."
What users are sure to take issue with is the type of information required to create an ID.me account. The verification process asks each person for a scan of their driver's license or other government-issued ID, a copy of utility or insurance bills, their mobile phone service information, and a "live selfie" of themselves.
If any document can't be provided or a fraud flag is triggered, a recording of a live video chat with the person creating the account will also be required. Just like with the live selfie, this can be done either through a mobile device or the webcam on a laptop or computer. The webcam must be on the same device you are using to make the application, though.
According to Krebs, the process it time-consuming (even though the ID.me help video states it "takes minutes"), requires setting up multi-factor authentication (MFA), safely storing a backup code, and successful verification of
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