An email received. Anyone else?

Starting in August 2016, Social Security is adding a new step to protect your privacy as a my Social Security user. This new requirement is the result of an executive order for federal agencies to provide more secure authentication for their online services. Any agency that provides online access to a customer’s personal information must use multifactor authentication.

When you sign in at ssa.gov/myaccount with your username and password, we will ask you to add your text-enabled cell phone number. The purpose of providing your cell phone number is that, each time you log in to your account with your username and password, we will send you a one-time security code you must also enter to log in successfully to your account.

Each time you sign into your account, you will complete two steps:

Step 1: Enter your username and password.
Step 2: Enter the security code we text to your cell phone (cell phone provider's text message and data rates may apply).

The process of using a one-time security code in addition to a username and password is one form of “multifactor authentication,” which means we are using more than one method to make sure you are the actual owner of your account.

If you do not have a text-enabled cell phone or you do not wish to provide your cell phone number, you will not be able to access your my Social Security account.

If you are unable or choose not to use my Social Security, there are other ways you can contact us. To learn more, please review the Frequently Asked Questions found here.


What a crok. Not everyone has or wants a cell phone & a text enabled cell phone. I have family that are still using land lines ffs. But I think it's a digital rotary dial cloaking phone.

No, I didn't get that, further I have no account for. SS as far as I know or one that I use. I pick up my checks at the US Embassy and take them to the bank. Any paperwork is handled by SS in Manila.

maybe try a skype IN number
that will forward calls straight to your cell wherever
think they run $25 a year if i recall correctly

I never use the internet with the SSA. My checks are deposited in my US bank and about every 6 months they send me paperwork to my Sihanoukville PO I have to send in to let them know I'm alive.

BTW/ Cambodia used to be a banned country for living in and collecting Social Security payments, even ones sent to US banks. It took me 6 months of 6 hours a day and contacting thousands of people including US congressmen, Cambodian/America attorneys/politicians, Seniors rights centers, Veterans right people, etc. In the end, they crossed Cambodia off the banned list, but Vietnam is still on the banned list.

I also got a non-US SS employee fired from the Manila SS office for telling me I had to move to a non-banned country. I hope she is happy in her new job in the food service, hostess or agriculture industry.

I use the MagicJack App when companies make me receive a code via SMS. It has come in handy a number of times. It is not a free App. There are other Apps that are for receiving SMS that might be free.

Hello all, Yes Luigi I received the same SS email, I'm an expat living in Thailand and was alerted to this issue yesterday. I just found an app called Talkatone that gives you a free US cell phone number and it's suppose to send/receive text messages free along with inbound free calls, looks like outbound calls are cheaper than Skype too at $1 for 60 minutes. I am testing it out now and hope to begin receiving texts and calls from friends in the US tomorrow. You must down load the app as an APK file because it is blocked from foreign downloads on the Google Play Store. Download Talkatone 5.4.4 APK for Android (don't know about iPhone or iPad) I used this site for my APK file down load: https://www.apk4fun.com/apk/6133/

You can 'google Talkatone' for the home site and other sites that have the APK file to verify, hope this helps, Rain

PS: when you open the app it will ask for a cell phone number or email to verify, I had to use email because it would not accept international numbers. I hope this thing works because it will be so nice to finally have a US number to give my friends/family in America to call or text me free without having to use Skype (you cannot receive texts on Skype and it's 11 cents to send one).

Skype is useless regarding this issue given you can't receive texts and only send them. You won't receive the email unless you signed up for updates in your subscriber preferences here: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts ... criber/new