> and now you're locked out of your own account because you lost your second factor.
To verify someone's identity ("Identity Proofing") using Stripe Identity [1] costs ~$2. They support IDs from 33 countries, and have implemented fraud detection in the flow. If you were so paranoid as to defend against someone stealing your government issued ID (used in the proofing process), you could paper mail a OTP to physical address on file.
Does it suck and its the cost of no digital ID infrastructure in the US? Yes. Is it insurmountable? Not at all. At the end of the day, people are the weakest link, and we must fallback to meatspace trust anchors (in this case, possession of government provided ID that can be provided on demand with robust fraud detection mechanisms). You are who you are, and own what you own, not because of key material but because of the law.
To verify someone's identity ("Identity Proofing") using Stripe Identity [1] costs ~$2. They support IDs from 33 countries, and have implemented fraud detection in the flow. If you were so paranoid as to defend against someone stealing your government issued ID (used in the proofing process), you could paper mail a OTP to physical address on file.
Does it suck and its the cost of no digital ID infrastructure in the US? Yes. Is it insurmountable? Not at all. At the end of the day, people are the weakest link, and we must fallback to meatspace trust anchors (in this case, possession of government provided ID that can be provided on demand with robust fraud detection mechanisms). You are who you are, and own what you own, not because of key material but because of the law.
[1] https://stripe.com/identity