Interesting!......very interesting, but also very American in its orientation.

I say that because the Social Security Number is extremely important in a US context whereas; over here in the UK, it is not. I don't even know my SSN, although I could find it; if needs be. Our SSN is purely taxation and welfare benefits related and plays no part in your personal ID.

Hence, you could not open a bank account in my name; hell, even I would have difficulty opening a bank account in my name I would need to show up personally with passport, drivers licence, and other ID if I don't drive. This is because our system is aimed at preventing money laundering and tax fraud. Sure, I could probably open an online account, but only if I was vouched for by my current financial services provider who had already done the verification.

One aspect of security that the article seems to have missed is that you are keeping your e-mail online, rather than downloading and storing locally. That means that you are trusting a remote provider to hold your data securely, and you probably don't download a local backup?

Do any of you remember Megaupload, and all those legitimate users who lost all their data?

Just a few thoughts................