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I am from Europe and i can't do anything except a random consultation about products without providing an actual ID (passport or ID card) in bank. The same goes for SIM swap - i have to go to mobile operator client center and provide ID before getting a new SIM. Obviously this is not 100% safe as the bank/mobile operator employee still could be social engineered somehow but it sounds miles better than what you have in US.

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I’m in the US and every time I’ve applied for a loan, credit card, or SIM in person I’ve had to provide a drivers license. When I applied online I do not have to give an ID but most of the time they ask for the ID number.

When I had my identity stolen the crooks still had some Fake ID with my name and info. They found small cellphone kiosks (a makeshift promotional tent) inside large stores with lax security to make their purchases.

Here drivers licence isn't recognized as a valid ID (can't even buy alcohol or get packages at the post office with it) because of what i assume is lax built in security mechanisms and everyone must have a valid passport. I do think that any system can be abused (social engineering, employee doing his job poorly etc.). At the end of day it should be possible to prove that it was a scam but just the fact you have to deal with it for quite some time is pita.

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