The power of SIM cards is incredible these days. Banks are using them for verification, crypto wallets have them with 2FA, and more and more sensitive information is being stored on people's phones.
It's hard to believe that you can lose so much if you lose your phone. A thief can use that phone to access your information and take out massive loans in your name. Or they could get your bitcoin keys, bank password, anything you use to keep money. People need to be more careful about what they leave lying around inside their phones.
But yeah, it's definitely the operators' fault. That's just plain stupid, transferring SIMs that easily.