this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2025
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Summary

Elon Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) have been granted access to the U.S. Treasury’s federal payment system, raising concerns about security and misuse.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved the move after a top Treasury official was ousted for resisting.

Critics warn Musk could freeze payments to government programs or manipulate federal contracts.

The move coincides with DOGE’s takeover of the Office of Personnel Management.

Experts call it a dangerous power grab, as Musk holds no official government position.

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Everyone has my social security number. It's one of the stupidest security fails of all time that nobody seems to want to fix. And now there is an entire "credit protection" industry so it will remain that way.

[–] Fredselfish 14 points 6 days ago (2 children)

What happens when we file our taxes? Will we even get our refunds?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Would be funny if there was a mass movement and nobody paid their taxes.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, most people have their taxes withheld from their paychecks, and file their returns so they get a refund.

If people didn't file returns, the IRS would end up with more money.

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[–] greenfish 4 points 6 days ago

Was just worrying about this with my spouse

[–] [email protected] 82 points 6 days ago (5 children)

Not mine. I live in a country that isn't an absolute joke.

[–] ramenshaman 19 points 6 days ago

Must be nice

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 days ago

What’s it like? :(

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago (3 children)

If it's the UK, the government probably has assigned you a National Insurance number.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Yes, but apartheid boy has nothing to do with the UK.

[–] FlyingSquid 16 points 6 days ago (1 children)

He should have nothing to do with the UK, but he's still sticking his fingers in British pies by petitioning for Tommy Robinson's release and promoting Reform UK.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (the shite) will stay where he belongs regardless, and Reform will never be anything but a gammon minority party.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 days ago

And it's only a matter of time until until he boasts about it by posting someone's SN during an petty online argument.

[–] buddascrayon 20 points 6 days ago (1 children)

To be fair the social security number is not exactly the most secure thing in the world. More than likely there's a lot of people who have your social security number and you don't have any clue that they do.

That being said, I don't understand why he's being allowed this kind of access. Even with the Orange douchebag's blessing, there should be other people minding the store. Shouldn't there?

[–] Kbobabob 6 points 5 days ago

there should be other people minding the store. Shouldn't there?

There was until they were removed and yes man installed

[–] [email protected] 32 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Thanks to Verizon/TMobile/AT&T being the swiss cheese fort Knox, I'd be surprised if Felon Skum didn't have it.

Companies have played fast and loose with our PII for so long that it's at a point where we need something else to act as that value so it's actually secret. But with this administration, that would end up being a wrist tattoo....

[–] ZILtoid1991 8 points 6 days ago

I already have a suspicion that he might already be leaking information out to third parties from Twitter (private messages, etc.), so...

[–] FellowHuman 26 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Why is Facebook 2auth reset harder, than stealing someones identity in US?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Because the social security number has become the default way to uniquely identify an individual in the US despite the fact that it was never intended for that function.

[–] FellowHuman 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I get that, I just can't comprehend, how you can do anything with it. In my country we have similar thing. We have "Birth number" and it is on every contract we sign. But just knowing it does jack shit. (But yeah, we also have identity card, and that changes number every renewal/loss)

More context:

For online sign you would need atleast 2 identifications (for example Identity cars and passport). And usualy thay make you come anyway to prove you're you.

It is bafeling to me, that some peaple in US have no means of identification.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

For a long time, many companies treated the SSN as a sort of secure password that only the individual would know. Some companies still do. Others, like schools and the military, just treated it like what it is. A unique id number. If you know name, address and SSN, it's possible to do a lot of different things that can create headaches for the person who was targeted. New credit cards, bank accounts, loans, transferred utilities, rental agreements.

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[–] 800XL 27 points 6 days ago

Elon Musk has to go.

[–] JayDee 25 points 6 days ago

Bruh who doesn't at this point?

[–] ansiz 13 points 6 days ago

All of my data got breached multiple times going back to the dot-com bubble days, by Yahoo, the original 2015 OPM Beach and by two of the big credit bureaus for a start. If Musk has my social at this point it doesn't matter.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

Elon Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE)

Is that seriously what it's called? Elon Musk is producing enough cringe to power all of human civilization. I have no idea if this is the worst timeline or not, but it's certainly the most embarrassing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Why are we coming up with nonsense scare tactic arguments? He's obviously just going to divert federal funds to himself via his companies.

He has no need for a bunch of shitters' SSN when he would just open himself to the greatest class action in history because it would take about 100 million of us to make him any significant wealth.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Does he have one?

What is his?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago

I'm sure quite a few people have mine. SSN's aren't a secure thing at all. It should be updated.

[–] whotookkarl 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

SSN is not a password and anyone who uses it like one doesn't understand security because you can't change it. It's a user ID, like a finger print or email address.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago

In principle yes; in practice, no.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

You can get anyone's SSN for $15 on the dark web. lol. The amount of leaks/hacks that have happened to all of the companies that require your SSN is insane.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (3 children)

You can get it on the clear web for about $20 completely legitimately. Background checks have been a thing forever and reveal basically everything.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

"May or may not, but mostly may."

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