Unless extra words are added to show they are disagreeing with the practice instead of my comment then “also” is the best choice.

I didn’t see it as an attack. I saw it as very poor communication. “Also” would have worked way better as it would have been a “yes, and” instead of a literal “but.” I’m all about charitable readings. That’s why I didn’t attack them but pointed out their choice in wording. It was, as pointed out, snarky, not defensive.

That’s fine. In the future I’d start with “Also” instead of “But.” It completely changes the tone.

I don’t remember that being part of the question I was answering. The question was why, not how. So the “But” seems confrontational in this context.

Is it dumb that they might have been in plain text or something close enough to it that it didn’t matter: of course. But that wasn’t the question.

To run credit checks and be in compliance with anti-terrorism regulations.