Alabama lawmakers could give you another reason to take more selfies.
The state’s Department of Revenue is partnering with MorphoTrustUSA to provide identity protection technology that aims to prevent criminals from committing tax fraud.
MorphoTrustUSA is an identity protection company that will provide the technology for this initiative.
“Right now, there’s no federal or state stoppage that will prevent a thief who has your personal information from filing a tax return without your knowledge,” said department Commissioner, Julie Magee. “The commissioner of the IRS, John Koskinen, and myself, we remain very frustrated that after somebody’s identity has been used to file their tax return, there is very little remediation we can do for them.”
For next year’s tax season, Alabama residents will have to authenticate their identity to prove that they filed the tax return. Furthermore, the app will have the resources to stop the return from being processed until verified that they did indeed file the return. This service will be offered to residents free of charge.
The app will be fairly simple to use. Users will simply download the app, scan information from their driver’s license, and end with a selfie. According to AL.com, that selfie is “cross-referenced with your photo in the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. When a return is filed, you get a request to authenticate it via a selfie.”
Compared to the traditional way people found out about fraud through the mail, this new technology can let users know in real time that their identity has been compromised. For the 62% of Americans who enjoy checking the mailbox, they may love checking this app even more.
As technology is moving in a direction to make our lives better, some people think too much of it can be a negative thing.
Just as Alabama embraced new technology, a museum in New York City is using technology in an innovative way as well. The Museum of Modern Art in New York just recently opened its doors after a three-year renovation project and introduced a new app to enhance the patron experience.
Museums often have restrictions on cell phone usage and some in the industry think technology may be going too far.
“In our busy lives, in our crazy lives, we’re always connected to technology. People want to come into museums and put that technology aside for a moment,” said Connie Wolf, the director of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.
