Source: Press
"It is unacceptable that unique personal identification numbers (JMBG) are unchangeable in Serbia because then nothing can be done in case of their abuse. Damage caused by identity theft in the USA alone is estimated at dozens of billions of dollars. The main trouble in Serbia is the fact that we are not even aware of the magnitude of this problem", Mr. Rodoljub Sabic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, said in his statement given to "Press" daily. He emphasized that no one in Serbia recognized this as an issue which should be seriously discussed.
"Once someone gets hold of a unique personal identification number of a citizen, if the number is a password to enter databases or use certain services, nothing can be done because the number cannot be changed. According to the standards applicable in the democratic world, a number assigned to a citizen is not unchangeable. Some countries even expressly ban the assignment of such numbers to citizens in their constitutions. By New Year, unique personal identification numbers inherited from former Yugoslavia will be banned in Croatia and citizen's personal numbers will no longer be linked to their data", Mr. Sabic said.
He added that he had spoken publicly against abuses of unique personal identification numbers a year ago when he criticized the Privatization Agency which published a list of several dozens of citizens who were not entitled to free shares in an advertisement and, apart from their names and surnames, indicted their unique personal identification numbers as well.
"They accepted my arguments and stopped doing it. Support for this action needs to be sought by knocking on more than one door. The first is the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but it should be discussed with several public authorities. Of course, in an IT age a citizen should have a code, but all risks from abuses should be excluded", Mr. Sabic said.
