No kidding. The passports would have been just fine with some sort of smartcard/chip. At least then, the passport holder would add a level of trust when it comes to letting someone read their passport.
Ya. At least you know if it has left your posession. All bets are off on that if someone else has physical access to your passport though. Even with a chip that needs physical contact, if you have to surrender it to someone for whatever reason, a nefarious person could take that opportunity to clone it.