UNODC proposes four solutions to fight against identity-related crimes

Wrapping up day one, the council had left off at four different solutions on how they could fight against identity-related crimes. The delegates of each country unanimously agreed that something must be done to protect its citizens from this growing worldwide threat. Delegates of Fiji and Germany both sought to find the root cause of the problem and tackle it from there. However, the vast majority of the delegates were a lot more focused on tackling the issue head on.

To tackle the problem, they had decided that one solution would be to educate the public. Especially the elderly and the children. The elderly, who are not as technologically savvy as the younger generations, would not be able to identify an identity-related scam as easily. Children, on the other hand, may be more technologically savvy but they are still young and naive. Hence, both age groups must be educated in order to prepare them in case they are faced with an identity-related scam. The two ways that the council had discussed about educating these generations were to show shorts on television, informing the public of these identity-related crimes without the citizens having to leave their homes. The delegate of Australia also suggested that the talks could be held in school to educate the younger generations then they could ask the children at the end to share what they had learnt with their families. This in turn helps to educate the public using less manpower.

The second solution was to teach the employees working in information technology (IT) and government sectors. This was to lower the chances of these employees falling victim to identity-related crimes such as phishing. The method used to teach the employees was left to those doing the lessons. Instead, the UNODC decided that the lessons must at least ensure that the employees knew how to identify these scams and the consequences of falling victim to them.

Less-developed countries however, may not have the manpower to teach and educate their employees and citizens. Hence, Singapore, Japan and the United States of America have decided to send some of their experts on the subject to less-developed countries in order to provide the citizens with education on the subject matter.

The fourth and final solution was to set up a new branch in the government of each country: the Document Verification Service (DVS). DVS is a database containing information about the citizens of one’s country. There would be one database per country and countries would be able to view the data of citizens of another country with permission. This solution was brought to light by the delegates of Australia and China. However, delegates of Fiji, Germany, South Africa and Pakistan were not sold on the idea of putting all their eggs in one basket. They were scared as if the database was hacked, the data of their citizens would also be in jeopardy. Their fear of other countries leaking information was quickly dispatched by Pakistan's suggestion of adding strict laws to prevent countries from leaking others information.

Finding solutions to fight against identity-related crimes is of importance to the UNODC as it is a matter that is constantly changing and growing. Identity-related crimes are a worldwide threat that must be stopped. As our society grows into a more computerized one, new avenues for criminals to exploit open up. This enables them with more ways to commit more identity-related crimes. Hence, the council has decided to find solutions to curb this problem and keep their citizens safe.

The council will continue to discuss until they have finalized their solutions against identity-related crimes. Their finalized solutions will be later published in the resolution paper on the second day.