How did people in the past prevent identity theft? I mean before the photos and new secure technology on identity documents were available?

Question

How did people in the past prevent identity theft? I mean before the photos and new secure technology on identity documents were available?

In: 568

Answer 1

It actually was a lot easier back in the day to impersonate somebody else. Stories abound of people in pre-industrial times conning others into believing they were some kind of royal or something. But, the consequences were a lot higher too. They’d hang or gibbet you over a lot less than impersonating a duke back then.