Dear Rusty: Last month I tried to contact Social Security who never picked up a phone on their end. The same with the IRS. When I finally got through, they said I had to join ID.me before they could help me. That took me over a week, and many applications and rejects, to get through. The last step was holding up my Social Security card and my driver’s license on a Zoom call to an ID.me representative. I found this very peculiar – why do I have to go through this place to get information from my government agencies? Now I am receiving catalog offers to buy things from ID.me online. I think this is very strange and out of line. How do I get unregistered from this place? I am very afraid they will share my information with the world. Is this a government agency and why do we have to register there, only to have offers to buy things? Signed: Frustrated Senior

This recording presents the viewpoints of the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Staff, trained and accredited under the National Social Security Advisors program of the National Social Security Association, LLC (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation are not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government, the Social Security Administration, or any other state government. To request additional information, contact our Advisory Staff at 888-750-2622, or email us at [email protected].