what happens if an Apple ID is never authenticated? Allan says that something smells rotten about the account, that something, somewhere, must be compromised.  Is that an absolute?

That, in order to create an Apple ID, that the e-mail must be authenticated?

Apple writes:


  My name is Jennifer, and I am one of the Senior Advisors here with the
  iTunes Store Support Team. After consulting with the adviser handling
  your request, I have taken ownership of your case so that I can work
  directly with you, and answer any questions you may have. 
  
  I understand you’ve received an email about someone using your email
  to create an Apple ID using a device you do not having. I would want
  this reviewed as well if someone was using my email, allow me to help.
  
  As we have no means to contact out to the person who create the
  account, as this is only an ID in the system, not a full account to be
  associated to any downloads or purchases. I would use the site
  iforgot.apple.com to begin the process to gain access to this account
  and reset the password and associate it to your own device.


I ask because Wikipedia states:


  An Apple ID must be a valid email address, protected by a password
  that is an alphanumeric string of at least 8 characters, and
  case-sensitive.


and


  When a user creates a new Apple ID, Apple will send a verification
  email to the email address that the user provided during registration.
  The user is required to follow the URL that is included in the
  verification email to activate the account, then the user will be able
  to use their Apple ID. It is possible to create an Apple ID without
  specifying a credit card.


My question:  what happens if, in the best case scenario for me, some one got a nice iPhone for Christmas, and simply entered my e-mail by accident?

Is the account ever activated?  Is it in a sort of limbo?

Again, Alex's answer categorically states:


  Given the security process, your email must have been compromised when
  it was created


Which is concerning, to say the least.  So, to clarify, might it be possible that this is a mix-up?  Or, because I received the activation code the other day, that my e-mail has been compromised?

(Unfortunately, no iPhone for Christmas.)

A bit less concerned now that I seem to be speaking with a person at Apple.  Still, curious.

It occurs to me that I just received the e-mail about the iCloud account being created; not sure that's the same as an Apple ID creation.  It's not impossible that I created an account long ago, but unlikely.  I'll look for other e-mails from Apple.
In the answer to your previous question on this topic, it's answers the question directly in the verification email sent out by Apple; it's the very last sentence.


  If you did not make this request, you can ignore this email.  No Apple
  ID will be created without verification.


I've included the same picture here, but larger for your reference.