Finnish telecom firms report that they blocked a massive number of scam calls from abroad during the summer.
In June and July, Telia blocked about 2.5 million scam calls, and in May, it prevented an average of 11,300 daily.
Telia's Security Specialist Kristian Westerstråhle, stated in a press release that a technical solution implemented at the end of last year has helped the operator block scam calls.
"The scammers seem to have noticed this as well since the number of scam attempts decreased significantly. May was the calmest month, but the summer has once again renewed the number of scam calls, Westerstråhle said.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) mandated operators to block incoming scam calls for their customers last year. The regulation which came into effect in October 2023 required operators to prevent the spoofing of Finnish mobile phone numbers, where caller IDs are altered to disguise the true origin of the call.
Telecom firm Elisa reported that it blocked nearly one million scam call attempts from May to July, depending on the method of calculation.
According to Elisa, the reason for its lower numbers in comparison with Telia is that its national solution, introduced just under a year ago, is based on an earlier innovation, which had already significantly decreased the number of scam call attempts on its network.
Situation improving
Ilkka Tuominen, Head of Fraud Prevention at telecom firm DNA, reports that scam calls have continued to be a concern for DNA this year.
According to Tuominen, an average of 10,700 scam calls per day were blocked from April to June. In July, the situation has slightly improved, with the daily number of scam calls dropping to around 9,000.
Tuominen noted that in 2023 when scam calls were at its peak, DNA blocked up to 10 million scam calls over the year. The number of scam attempts has decreased compared to the previous year, thanks to Traficom's regulations and improved blocking technology.
"When mobile number call restrictions were introduced, it created a spike in panic for scammers. Now, the situation has somewhat stabilised, and scammers are searching for new methods to access users' assets," he said.
For instance, scam messages posing as banks or authorities have become more prominent than scam calls at DNA. From June to July, DNA blocked approximately 14,000 scam messages daily.
However, experts say not all scams can be prevented by operators. Finns have lost tens of millions of euros to various online scams.
"The situation is very challenging. This type of crime has been industrialised abroad, and the amounts of money gained from scams are so substantial that criminals are unwilling to give them up," Tuominen says.
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