These tips can help identify the cheater.
The authority warns of scams. Illustration. Adobe Stock / AOP
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom’s Cyber Security Center says that there are more and more scams in which criminals appear as banks, authorities or, for example, online stores to fish for personal information.
According to reports to the police, Finns lost more than EUR 84 million in various online scams in 2024, as much as 70 % more than a year earlier. For its part, the Finnish Financial Association said in February that banks managed to stop and return more than EUR 44 million in cheated funds last year.
In 2024, the Cyber Security Center was notified more than 14,000 phishing messages sent in different ways. However, the total number of scam messages sent annually to Finns is calculated by millions.
– There are so many fishing messages that everyone should be alert for them. Criminals use the logos and names of well-known bodies to make the messages more credible in the recipient’s eyes, says Sanna Autio, a security expert in Traficom’s release.
This will identify the genuine message of a bank or authority
- The authority or bank will never ask for bank IDs or passwords via email or SMS.
- Check the sender’s address and watch out for the differences in the individual letters. The addresses used by official bodies can be found on their website.
- If the message is written in a bad Finnish language or is advised to act quickly, the alarm clocks should ring.
- The authenticity of the message can always be checked for the message sender’s genuine customer service. Find the customer service number on the official website of the organization.
This is how you identify a genuine website
- View the address of the website. Scammers often use addresses that resemble genuine addresses but contain minor typos or extra words.
- If the site has typing errors or it seems to be eliminated or “cheap”, you may be on a scam site.
- If the authority service authentication options lack Finnish banks or, for example, a mobile certificate option, do not sign in to the service before ensuring the authenticity of the site.