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> "Identity theft" is a term coined by banks to try to make it sound like random people should have to deal with the fallout of the banks' bad identity verifica

> "Identity theft" is a term coined by banks to try to make it sound like random people should have to deal with the fallout of the banks' bad identity verification practices. The problem isn't the banks, the problem is that unlike Europe where in most countries it's commonplace for everyone to have a government-issued ID document, the US does not have that requirement and so companies of all sorts abuse documents not meant for that purpose like SSNs or driver licenses that can be trivially forged. Banks can't invent security out of thin air when a significant part of the US population believes that mandating possession of one is a surefire way into a dictatorship or whatnot.

kasey_junk 2y ago
About 3% of the us adult population doesn’t have government issued photo id. So if the issue is forgery say so, it’s not a lack of id or a cultural norm against it.
- username332211 2y ago
  How many billions would a major bank loose in a lawsuit, if they did the sensible thing and refused to deal with 3% of the population?
  - kasey_junk 2y ago
    4.2% of US _households_ are unbanked. Banks refuse customers for many less extreme reasons than “can’t verify identity” which is in fact a requirement for them with all of their federal and state regulators.
  - trelane 2y ago
    Most do. For example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Banking/comments/1csl00q/any_banks_that_dont_require_id_verification/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Banking/comments/1csl00q/any_banks_...
  - nobody9999 2y ago
    >How many billions would a major bank loose in a lawsuit, if they did the sensible thing and refused to deal with 3% of the population? Zero. Because FINCEN/KYC[0] laws in the US mandate identification for all customers. Which means that at least 3% of the populations is "unbanked"[1]: Some reasons a person might not have a bank account include: Lack of access via a nearby bank branch or mobile phone Minimum balance fees Distrust of the banking system, typically due to lack of transparency regarding fees and deposit timing[1] No access to government-issued ID, which is required to open a bank account To avoid delinquent debts, such as creditors seizing the account in judgements, or the government collecting back taxes or child support [0] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/knowyourclient.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/knowyourclient.asp [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbanked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbanked Edit: Fixed subject/verb agreement (laws/mandate)/fixed quote formatting.
    - MrBrobot 2y ago
      Further reference for the ID requirements: https://www.bankhelp.gov/help-topics/bank-accounts/required-identification/id-types.html https://www.bankhelp.gov/help-topics/bank-accounts/required-...
- mschuster91 2y ago
  > About 3% of the us adult population doesn’t have government issued photo id. Add on top of that undocumented people or the issues surrounding the Native American population and their partial autonomy rights, and it becomes a mess very very quickly because it won't stay at "about three percent".
nullc 2y ago
What? US banks won't bank you if you don't have 27 distinct forms of government ID and a recent rectal exam. And then they have someone with an incomprehensible accent in a call center that probably also runs scam calls calling you up and asking for your password as part of their ordinary SOP. They deploy fancy new tech like "verifying your voice" with some AI crap while simultaneously not allowing your password to have more than 8 characters. (Which must have two symbols but if one of them is ` you'll experience random spontaneous logouts). There may be many causes of the disaster that is bank security, people not having ID is absolutely not part of it.

kasey_junk 2y ago

About 3% of the us adult population doesn’t have government issued photo id. So if the issue is forgery say so, it’s not a lack of id or a cultural norm against it.

username332211 2y ago
How many billions would a major bank loose in a lawsuit, if they did the sensible thing and refused to deal with 3% of the population?
- kasey_junk 2y ago
  4.2% of US _households_ are unbanked. Banks refuse customers for many less extreme reasons than “can’t verify identity” which is in fact a requirement for them with all of their federal and state regulators.
- trelane 2y ago
  Most do. For example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Banking/comments/1csl00q/any_banks_that_dont_require_id_verification/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Banking/comments/1csl00q/any_banks_...
- nobody9999 2y ago
  >How many billions would a major bank loose in a lawsuit, if they did the sensible thing and refused to deal with 3% of the population? Zero. Because FINCEN/KYC[0] laws in the US mandate identification for all customers. Which means that at least 3% of the populations is "unbanked"[1]: Some reasons a person might not have a bank account include: Lack of access via a nearby bank branch or mobile phone Minimum balance fees Distrust of the banking system, typically due to lack of transparency regarding fees and deposit timing[1] No access to government-issued ID, which is required to open a bank account To avoid delinquent debts, such as creditors seizing the account in judgements, or the government collecting back taxes or child support [0] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/knowyourclient.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/knowyourclient.asp [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbanked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbanked Edit: Fixed subject/verb agreement (laws/mandate)/fixed quote formatting.
  - MrBrobot 2y ago
    Further reference for the ID requirements: https://www.bankhelp.gov/help-topics/bank-accounts/required-identification/id-types.html https://www.bankhelp.gov/help-topics/bank-accounts/required-...
mschuster91 2y ago
> About 3% of the us adult population doesn’t have government issued photo id. Add on top of that undocumented people or the issues surrounding the Native American population and their partial autonomy rights, and it becomes a mess very very quickly because it won't stay at "about three percent".

nullc 2y ago

What? US banks won't bank you if you don't have 27 distinct forms of government ID and a recent rectal exam. And then they have someone with an incomprehensible accent in a call center that probably also runs scam calls calling you up and asking for your password as part of their ordinary SOP. They deploy fancy new tech like "verifying your voice" with some AI crap while simultaneously not allowing your password to have more than 8 characters. (Which must have two symbols but if one of them is ` you'll experience random spontaneous logouts). There may be many causes of the disaster that is bank security, people not having ID is absolutely not part of it.