An ID problem, of the 10T variety.

Turns out the IRS (or maybe it's the fed.gov's overarching identity-verification system) operates on the unchallengeable assumption that each taxpayer has his own unique cellphone number.

Which... no.  My father had his own cellphone for a while, but didn't use it.  He basically went from "land-line shared with my mother" to "list my number and I field any calls for him."  So the number the IRS now has on file for him is the same number that's been on file for me for many years now, and the computer can't cope.

U.S. Bank refuses to use my phone for 2FA on my account because it was used for 2FA on my father's account first.  Or something.  Isn't my account older than his?  Anyway, their computer has decided that my number is his number.  Not a big deal; just means the bank uses my challenge questions all the time.

The IRS is looking to be a different kettle of worms.  Joy is investigating.  Maybe he can have some sort of verification code snail-mailed to his mailing address... which is also my mailing address, because Family.

This is what happens when you put young whippersnappers in charge of security.

Addendum:  With cellphones increasingly used as ID tokens, they're rapidly approaching the status of Vermin Supreme's mandatory pony.

Update:  Oh, this just gets better and betterer.

The IRS, or id.me or whatever, can't do 2FA using the phone number on my father's tax return, that being his phone number of record, presumably because it's also my phone number.  But!  It'll happily accept Joy's number for 2FA, despite / because of having no record of that number.  Smart, or what?

And... it insists on having a driver license or state-issued photo ID uploaded.  OK, fine.  But!  it then looks for the photo, and, the Tennessee non-driver ID card being in a different format from the driver license, the software can't find the photo.  Not that having the photo would have any relevance anyway, unless at some point he's expected to show his face in person.

Yeah.  Prove you're you by showing that you have control of a cellphone that we've never heard of, and by uploading a picture of an ID card that's in the expected format and has your name on it plus something resembling a photo of somebody in the expected location.  Brilliant!

Whatever the issue is (I think they just want my father to establish that he's him and that he filed a return last year), it was supposed to be handled by phone, but the IRS doesn't have the phone-answerers to keep up with the letters they sent out.

Afterthought:  Maybe id.10t's problem with my phone number isn't that it's on my tax return, but that the CA DMV uses the same system, and I used the number a couple of years ago to do something or other on-line?  In which case... if you get a new cellphone number, and it was previously assigned to someone else, and he once used it for 2FA via id.10t, does that mean you're out of luck?

Comments

[Ellen Fox]

Would getting a Google Voice number help differentiate y'all?

[Eric Wilner]

Maybe. Before the move, I was pondering getting some sort of VOIP service with a local number, but was looking at non-Google options and they weren't cheap enough to sign up for one just because I might want it someday.
I might just take another look at Google Voice; while I'm sure it's insecure by design and subject to sudden disappearance, it might be useful for some everyday things.
Hm. Especially if the same VOIP number could work on my phone, Joy's phone, and whatever computer(s) might be set up for VOIP. Sometimes, having a household number can be useful. Another thing to look into....

[Ellen Fox]

I've had one for years. It goes to my landline and my cell phone. I haven't had any issues with it.