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.

    • StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.org
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      8 hours ago

      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@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        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.

        • StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.org
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          2 hours 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.