Privacy and security

There are literally thousands of emails and articles written which talk about email security, and how you should not reveal data about yourself online, such as your birthday, or the colour of your eyes. Why? Because, if you do, people can steal your identity, and then steal all your money from some bank.
The first time I saw these emails/articles, I agreed wholeheartedly. Of course it is right that we should protect these details from malicious hackers. And then I realized exactly what it was that I was protecting. After all, I like presents, so I widely publicize my birthday to one and all anyway. And anyone who wants to steal my identity is surely going to have enough initiative to see my photo to check the colour of my eyes. There are enough of those lying around in the world!
What it seems to me is that the companies which are being affected by identity theft are trying to pass the buck here. Why on earth do they not have better security systems. After all, its easier for them to blame the poor customer than it is to make sure that problems don't crop up in the future.
So, I am going to be a lot more suspicious when someone asks me to hide my birthday on my orkut profile.