The Net's online pizza was real a year earlier; its plot is real now

The Net opened in July 1995. Early on, Sandra Bullock's Angela Bennett, a systems analyst who rarely leaves home, orders a pizza through a website, picking the size and toppings on screen. For most viewers on dial-up, it looked like the future.

PizzaNet, 1994

It was already happening. In August 1994 Pizza Hut and the Santa Cruz Operation announced PizzaNet, a pilot that let people in the Santa Cruz area of California order from their local Pizza Hut through a web form. Staff rang back to confirm each order, and customers paid cash on delivery.

The part that was fiction

The film's real leap was its plot. After a holiday, Angela finds her records wiped, her home emptied and her Social Security number attached to a woman with a police record. Nobody can vouch for her.

In 2024 the US Federal Trade Commission received more than 1.1 million identity theft reports through IdentityTheft.gov.

How to lock your identity

• In the US, freeze your credit with each of the three credit bureaus; it is free. In the UK, check your credit file regularly with the free services from the credit reference agencies.
• Switch on two-step verification for email first, since it resets everything else.
• Use a password manager and a different password for every account.
• Turn on transaction alerts with your bank.
• If it happens, report it straight away (IdentityTheft.gov in the US, Action Fraud in the UK) and keep a record.