The number of financial scams in Finland increased in the first part of the year, according to figures gathered from banks by the lobby group Finance Finland.
It said that people in Finland have been scammed out of at least 27.5 million euros since the start of the year.
Banks have halted — and returned — some 18.2 million euros of fraudulent payments before they ended up in scammers' hands.
That brings the total value of fraud detected by Finnish banks to some 45.7 million euros.
"We will be close to a hundred million euros by the end of the year," said Niko Saxholm of Finance Finland.
Scammers create pressure
The largest losses have come from so-called phishing attacks, where scammers persuade individuals to hand over personal data or install viruses or malware on their devices. Those scams caused around 11.7 million euros of losses.
These include "fake police" scams where the scammer gets victims to hand over payment credentials by pretending to be an official or a representative of a bank.
"Criminals try to create a feeling of urgency in the situation," said Saxholm. "If it were a real police officer, tax official or bank, there'd be no need to do something that very second."
"If car tax is not paid that second, the registration is not immediately cancelled."
Investment scams also caused big losses, with fraudsters taking some 10.9 million euros by tempting people with returns on their capital.
The biggest individual scams can be worth millions of euros.
"An investment scam can last for years before the victim realises that he has invested his money in something that doesn't really exist," said Saxholm.
Saxholm said that the advice has always been that if a deal seems like it's too good to be true, it probably is. He recommends stopping and thinking carefully about any offers received before making any hasty decisions.
Romance scams less common
Document and romance scams have declined in number, on the other hand. Saxholm said awareness campaigns have helped fight those kinds of fraud.
On the other hand, scammers now try to circumvent protections, for instance by using gift cards worth thousands of euros rather than cash transfers.
The scams can also be reclassified once the precise form of the crime becomes clearer.
"A romance scam starting on a dating app can become an investment scam, so the statistics will show an investment scam rather than a romance scam," said Saxholm.
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