> Not sure about parent comment, but I am in Europe and identity theft is basically non-existent. And I'm not sure why is that.

This perception likely comes from your selection of news sources. Identity theft is not unique to the United States.

Stories like the linked one are not common at all. The rarity is actually why it’s a noteworthy news story.

> Also document forgeries are not a thing (when I see TV shows where teenagers try to buy alcohol using a fake driving license that really feels "American").

Again, TV shows are not representative of what happens in the real world. We have far more advanced IDs than decades ago when they were more easily spoofed. We also have routine undercover checks against gas stations and grocery stores where agents attempt to purchase alcohol with fake IDs. Depending on the state, the penalties for failing to check obvious fake IDs can be quite significant including suspending your ability to handle checkout jobs for a period of time.

American news media and TV shows are not representative of daily life here.

Some European countries have quite good governmental registers of the population, perhaps making it more difficult to "fake it"? It happens, of course, but gets more difficult when everything is connected

The ease of making your way across the US into different jurisdictions is probably a contributing factor. I imagine the geographical equivalent of this story would be a person from portugal driving their way across europe and landing in poland where they live out the rest of their lives under a different identity. It’s a lot tougher to do that when you’re crossing into a new country, culture, language entirely. And portugal is small enough that it would be very difficult to pull off within the confines of the country.

> Also document forgeries are not a thing

That's such an odd thing to say. This is just the tip of the iceberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gert_Postel

Perhaps its because most have passports, and a passport is often used as the proof of ID? In my home country every citizen gets an identity card with some important details on it. ID theft is basically non-existent there.

I think it's because all the financial systems for 95% of daily life are not tied to your identity in the same way as in the US.

There is no long trail of credit and debt that will chase you, requiring validation and checks at every step in your life. So getting someone's identity doesn't change much. getting anything from a phone subscription to student loans, to getting jobs is basically equal no matter what. They aren't allowed to block you except in rare situations. They aren't allowed to request a lot of the information you would need in the US.

And if your identity get's stolen in Europe the systems in place are way more flexible and reversible. So if a theft is found, it's effects are reasonably easy to undo.

Ever noticed how identity theft in the US is never directly stolen items or money? It's all about getting access to systems (credit / accounts / banking).

Much of Europe has national ID cards, which at least provide a better baseline for identity than the USA. We have…social security numbers that are easy to fudge.

In the US, credit, a private system, is used for everything. If you know how to use it, though, you can get things you'd never be able to afford, be allowed memberships to clubs and organizations, or even hold jobs that others with lesser credit are deemed unfit for.

I've been the victim of identity theft eight times since the Equifax breach, and at some point, I felt like I was just feeding cats to coyotes [0] and stopped fixing it. Unsurprisingly, it stopped. Why spend the effort maintaining excellent credit and not getting credit for it?

The only thing people used my credit to do in all cases except the last was open retail credit cards and max them out at baby clothes stores and lingerie shops. You couldn't believe the trouble I was in when those first bills came.

[0] https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd....

Why do so many Europeans commenting online seem to believe that television is real? Could media literacy really be that poor in Europe?