The governments in various country's could make it much harder to have your identity stolen by simply passing one law: That any fraudulent things made in your name are not your responsibility but the responsibility of the company in question who issued the credit, mortgage, etc. in question.
That would encourage companies to do their 'due diligence', including checking phone numbers and saying "This call is coming from Estonia? Not the right person, he lives in America, it's a scammer!" unless the person in question confirms a whole RAFT of other stuff, including a mailed contract that goes to the home registered as his current residence.