Identity theft: Our dodgy love affair with utility bills will
end in tears  The belief that a gas bill proves who you are and
where you live is preposterous, and actually heightens the risk
of identity theft Utility bills: BT, EDF, Thames Water Forging
one of these is child's play. Photograph: Graham Turner Graham
Turner/Guardian  I've been living here since 2003, but I still
can't make any sense of Britain's love affair with the utility
bill. Of all the romantic fixations, why something as ridiculous
as a gas bill?  My first peek into this bizarre romance came on
my second day in London. I marched into the Citibank on the
Strand, sat down with a banker and said: "Here are a year's
worth of Citibank US statements from my bank in San Francisco;
here are a year's worth of Citibank Canada Mastercard statements
from my bank in Toronto; here is my brand-new Canadian passport
with a brand-new UK residency visa glued into it. Here is some
money. I would like to open an account, please."  The nice
banker took all thi