Scam messages are circulating in the name of the police to scare people.
Finns have started receiving e-mails claiming that they have committed a crime that has led to interrogations. There is an attachment in the message, which is being tried to be opened in order to provide “additional information”.
The entire message reads as follows:
Hey
You have been notified that you are being questioned because there are one or more reasonable grounds to suspect that you have committed a crime. Please see the attached complaint for details.
PS: This is not a mistake.
More information can be obtained from the following email address
Contact: [email protected]
The story continues after the picture.
A screenshot of the scam message. Screenshot
The sender of the message sent with the subject “COMPLAINT” is “NATIONAL POLICE” and it was sent by the police chief Seppo Kolehmainen on behalf of. There have also been versions of the message that used official police IDs.
The Central Criminal Police warned about the messages a little over a week ago and says that it has filed dozens of criminal reports about the scams described under the title usurpation of official authority. The police said that they are not aware of any cases where the fraud caused little criminal damage.
Similar scam messages were circulating in the spring as well. These messages also tried to get the victim to contact the email address in the message.
– Typically, the motive for scams like this is the pursuit of financial gain. The first message may not yet ask for, for example, detailed personal or bank details, but if you reply to the message, this is the most likely next step, Crime Commissioner Jyrki Kallio The West Uusimaa police department said in a police release.
Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom’s Cybersecurity Center told Iltalehte on Wednesday that it had received contacts from citizens reporting similar scam messages.
Data security expert Matias Mesiän according to the method of cheating does not seem to have changed since the spring, when the police warned about it.
– The scammer still seems to be working in the same way, i.e. trying to get the recipient’s attention and thus respond to the contact. Answering the message will likely lead to a more targeted message that tries to fish for the victim’s private or banking information. This information can possibly be used for identity theft, says Mesiä.
Delete the message
The police advises to be attentive when it comes to e-mail messages, and attention should be paid especially to links and attachments.
– You cannot know in advance whether, for example, malware will be installed on your computer if you open links and attachments. That’s why you should just delete the messages without opening them, Kallio advised.
Mesia is on the same lines as Kallio:
– The police’s instructions are good. You should delete the message directly without opening any more attachments.
The police advises to delete the e-mail message mentioned in the story or similar sent in the name of the police without opening attachments or links. The police also shared more extensive instructions for scam messages, which you can see below.
Do this if you receive a scam message
- If you receive an e-mail message like the one described above or similar sent in the name of the police, delete it without opening the attachments.
- Do not reply to the message.
- Do not open any links or attachments that come with the message.
- You don’t need to do anything else about it.
Do this if you have provided your information
- If you have already replied to the message and provided your personal or bank details, contact your bank immediately.
- After that, report the crime to the police. You can report a crime electronically at poliisi.fi or at any police station.
- You should not call 911 about it.