The Technological Aspects to Identity Theft

CNN.com had a news article I just saw. It's about how identity theft has penetrated Facebook, with people hijacking other people's accounts and then posting status changes and notes which suggest that the individual is overseas and broke, or is being held up at gunpoint at work, etc. While some cases are nothing more than criminal pranks, it seems that a major drive for some is money: they get the clueless friends of the identity theft`ed individual to wire them hundreds, even thousands of dollars. The story goes on, blah blah blah, and CNN smarter-than-thou tells its readers, "Be careful who you share your private information with" and implies that readers would do well to not trust any requests for money which are made in a puretext fashion, be it cell phone text messages, AIM, or Facebook status updates.

This is what I wanted to talk about: the idea which is frustratingly prevalent in pop culture that, "Identity theft is here to stay, but with a few smart tips you can beat it, and Tip #1 is to quit trusting puretext."

I'll keep it short, as per my promise:
01. I agree that identity theft is here to stay.
02. I disagree that the future looks promising for beating it.
03. I believe that the security of audio feeds is already compromised, i.e. you can't trust what sounds like a friend on the phone.
04. I believe that it's on the horizon -- well within our lifetimes -- for the same to be true of video. Video hackjobs will be in 20 years what static image hackjobs (i.e. "PhotoShops" or "shopjobs") are today: pretty much indistinguishable from authentic video/photos.

Conclusion: in less than a couple of decades, you're not going to be able to trust a video feed of your Grandpa; and in less than a couple of centuries, you're not going to be able to trust your Grandpa standing right there in front of you (or so your hijacked brain thinks!!).

I really would like to know what ultimate solution security experts can come up with, because all they've been doing for the last 15 years is applying gauze to a leaky faucet that's about to fall to pieces.