u/SignificantSearch945

I keep seeing phone numbers treated as proof of identity. Call the number on file and send a code. Confirm the request over the phone and that made sense when controlling a phone number was a decent sign that you were talking to the right person. I don't think its that way anymore and feel free to disagree, Numbers can be spoofed, SIM swaps, Calls can be forwarded. And now a familiar voice isn't much proof due to AI.

Yet for things like wire transfers and sensitive account changes the fallback is still often “call the known number.” Feels like we’ve built strong security around data while leaving identity tied to something that was never designed to prove who a person is. Why are phone numbers still trusted this much?