Cringely on security and identify

"At the very center of identity theft, for example, is the mistaken concept that it is about identity when in fact it is really about theft. While it doesn't feel good knowing someone has acquired the means to attempt to impersonate you, what REALLY feels bad is when they use that information to drain your bank account. It isn't the impersonation, itself, that does the damage, either; it is the bank teller giving all your money to the bad guy that really hurts. So forget about protecting identity. How do we hang onto our loot?"