US Only: This is your regular data breach reminder to freeze your credit with all 3 credit bureaus, as well as with NCTUE. It's free to do, easy to lift when you need to, and helps prevent credit fraud (also known, incorrectly, as identity theft).
NCTUE was new to me... I love that they're apparently gathering all this data to sell, but if you don't want your data to be sold, you have to snail mail them or call them...
Why should I have to jump through all these hoops just because some (most?) banks can’t be bothered to do proper KYC before lending money or extending credit?
Most other countries also have similar processes in place, although the exact systems differ from country to country. Check your trusted local cybersecurity website, they should probably have some info on this.
Aside from legal definitions, it's definitely a broadly used term in the public arena as well. According to Wikipedia, it's been used this way since 1964.
> the term came from the banking sector themselves with the purpose of doing so
As far as I can see after a bit of research, that doesn't seem to be the case. Do you recall where you first heard that idea?
> No one has stolen any one's identity.
Nobody thinks that a victim of identity theft is left with no identity. It's figurative language just like your computer firewall isn't there to keep the flames back.
