That password thing isn't as useful as I'd hoped. Mine is maybe 20 digits and I use it frequently when I'm calling my phone carrier for routine activities - they do check it.

For traveling overseas I needed a different SIM card and bought one at a local store (to be repaid by my carrier). The clerk at the store did not need my password because I showed him my valid identification. Password was useless in this case.

Not counting fake IDs that get past clerks, a few years ago Krebs On Security noted that the normal bribe at a phone kiosk was $85 to do the SIM swap illegally.