Federal, state, and local governments choose ID.me to enable secure access to benefits and services for the people they serve. As a result, agencies report increased successful authentication rates, improved fraud mitigation, and a better user experience.

The following recent reports highlight how ID.me is improving secure access to government services.

New Jersey Agency Reports Increased Equity with ID.me

Robert Asaro-Angelo, New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development commissioner, recently discussed how the state increased access for people who otherwise would have been left behind, while also increasing protections against fraud:

“Anything we do with fraud is a balancing act between folks having access to benefits that they’re due and us protecting the trust fund. I must say that our security vendor is the only one that meets the standards the U.S. DOL has set out as the norm, which is NIST IAL2 – the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“Let me be very clear about something: ID.me has increased equity in our system. Let me tell you why. Because folks in legacy systems, the way they were judged on if they were a high risk for fraud, was based on their banking, based on their credit history, based on if they owned a home, based on if they were transient workers or not. ID.me, all you need is your license or your passport or some other form of identification, that gets you through.”

“… in my mind, when they [ID.me] came on board, we had a list of hundreds of thousands who I think were flagged for fraud by traditional systems that are used by other vendors to look at credit history and everything else, financial history – not credit score, but just a history of being in the financial system. And we know that the majority of folks who are unbanked are people of color, people who are low-wage workers. Now, they have the option to show, ‘I’m a person. That’s all that matters.’”

(Time Stamp: 3:11:00)

IRS Experiences Improved Authentication Rates

A recent article published by FCW highlights testimony from IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on why the agency turned to ID.me:

“‘The system we had before had about a 40% authentication rate … About 60% were not getting into the systems and had to walk into the site or had to call, which when we are on our heels from an inventory perspective is not a meaningful thing for the people in this country,’ said Rettig. ID.me’s authentication rate is ‘far in excess of 70% …’”

IRS Commissioner Drives Home the Need for Speed and Fraud Protection

IRS Commissioner Rettig recently commented on the need for digital identity verification solutions that handle high transaction volumes and protect against fraud by adhering to National Institute of Standards and Technology criteria:

“We need more than about 1,500 transactions per second. We need a level 2 authentication that once this person is in, this is the person.”

“Once I know this is you, that is your account, I can open up a whole list of services that you can do automatically online. When that authentication level might be different, we have to pull back because of the levels of fraud that we encounter. And some people think fraud is somebody sitting in their backyard, but we’re up against nation states.”

(Time Stamp: 59:30)

Taxpayer Advocate Commends IRS for Improving Authentication Process

In a recent blog, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins commented on IRS advances in secure authentication:

“Because the IRS is the custodian of sensitive financial information from hundreds of millions of taxpayers, I appreciate the need for it to take precautions to protect its data and prevent fraud, while also prioritizing taxpayer privacy concerns. I commend the IRS on improving the identity authentication process by using a trusted technology partner for the first step in the modernized Security Access Digital Identity process, providing additional protection levels before accessing tax information.” 

Arizona Agency Director Touts Value of ID.me Partnership

Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Michael Wisehart highlighted the confidence he has in ID.me:

“I would recommend ID.me to any state agency — and I already have. It has given us the confidence that we are assisting individuals who really need it, and I know every state, and their taxpayers, would benefit from this peace of mind.”

Expanded Protection Measures Help Block Unemployment Fraud

Nancy Farias, director of the California Employment Development Department, commented on how much unemployment insurance fraud the state faces:

“… we continue to fend off aggressive fraud attempts from those who attack state unemployment systems across the country. Our expanded protection measures, including the contracts that are before you today, blocked over $120 billion in fraud attempts in 2020 and 2021. The fraud prevention contracts in the governor’s budget assist us in paying claimants timely while continuing to prevent scammers from infiltrating our systems on the front end …”

(Time Stamp: 1:28:00)

California Governor Outlines Benefits of ID.me Implementation

California Gov. Gavin Newsom discussed the implementation of ID.me:

“We went through about 16 vendors or so to see what was available out there. Went down to about 12 we really tested and kicked the proverbial tires. And we’ve come up with a system called ID.me. This will process about 90% automatically of all of the new applications.”