Before modern technology, how did financial institutions protect against fraud and identity theft?
In: Economics
Identity theft was less of a thing when the only bank you could withdraw money from was the one where everyone knew your name and face.
A lot of stuff that was accepted outside your own bank would be bearer instruments, so that whoever held that piece of paper got the benefits associated with it regardless of identity.
Things like signatures, stamps, seals etc existed to prove identity, but much of it used to be done because someone was personally known or some other person who was vouched for them.
Forgeries were a real issue, but pretending to be someone else to get access to their money was less so.
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