I know it seems crazy but it’s a real thing. There’s been litigation related to it over social security numbers, even. I’ve known people IRL who are sure any ID improvements are a move toward the rise of the Antichrist, and these were otherwise “normal” Christian folks. It’s fairly widespread, as nutty concerns go.
Well, there's a Venn diagram where there is overlap of legitimate concern over tracking people and these religious beliefs. OTOH SSNs are like the least of problems compared to how tracking is all over our digital lives.
Why couldn't the government use SSN to track people? There is no way to avoid tracking in situations where you need to identify yourself, regardless how you identify yourself, so why not make a robust way to identify yourself?
