After Equifax breach, US watchdog says agencies aren't properly verifying identities

A federal watchdog says the government should stop relying on the credit agencies to verify the identifies of those using government services. In a report out this week, the the Government Accountability Office said several government departments still rely on the credit agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — to check if a person is who they say they are before they can access their services online. Agencies like the U.S. Postal Service, the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ask several questions of a new user and match their answers to information held in an individual's credit file.