Saturday, August 12, 2023

Identity theft and two-Factor authentication (or Two-factor HELL)--Part 2

 This pursued me over and over again. The following sites are well set up for handling this issue better than most.

https://www.irs.gov/  and https://www.medicare.uhc.com/aarp

The first one had a way to get back to the site without your telephone but you need a code that you used during registering your account. This code is browser specific and I had two, one each for Google's Chrome and Edge.

The AARP/United Health Care had a phone answering system that worked superbly. One problem was it is invariably connected with Medicare D. You have to know the prescription drug you purchased recently as well as your United Health Care details.

The problem with the banks continued and I had to get the temporary password from PNC Bank after satisfying all the different things they wanted to verify such as, recent transactions, drivers license etc.

The lesson from this incident was earned at high cost in time and number of telephone calls. Down leave a site without providing multiple ways of getting verified, preferably both email accounts and telephone numbers.

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