Online fraud escalation in Finland

Authorities and financial institutions in Finland have issued warnings regarding a rise in sophisticated online fraud and social engineering scams. Early reports highlighted specific tax refund scams where criminals used artificial intelligence to create realistic messages and voice impersonations to steal banking credentials and personal information. In response, banks like OP Financial Group implemented security measures, such as transfer limits and mobile app warnings to detect simultaneous phone calls during payments.

Subsequent data from Finanssiala ry indicated a broader trend of increasing fraud, with attempted fraud totaling 148 million euros in 2025, a rise of over one-third from the previous year. While banks successfully prevented or returned over 31 million euros during the first half of that year, criminals obtained more than 28 million euros. Fraudulent tactics have expanded to include ‘CEO fraud’ and the impersonation of police or judicial institutions. Experts noted that scammers have moved beyond poorly translated messages to highly convincing communications that target a wider demographic than just the elderly.