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Attempts continue to be made to scam residents of Estonia out of money by means of fraudulent calls, phishing messages and fake websites, and in 2022, the police were notified of 740 cases of investment or bank fraud, the total losses of which amounted to just over €5 million.
Investment fraud cases reported to the police during the year numbered 267, with the amount stolen totaling a little over €3 million, while bank fraud cases numbered 473, with a total loss of close to €2 million.
Urmet Tambre, the head of the bureau for criminal investigation at the North Department of the Police and Border Guard Board, said that in 2022, an average of two people a day fell victim to fraudsters, and there are no signs of the activity of scammers slowing down.
“Almost all scams are committed against Estonian people from other countries, which makes it impossible to stop the scammers from here and virtually impossible to recover the money stolen.”
“Good advice” ends in great harm
The money scammed from victims moves quickly between banks and different accounts and is eventually withdrawn in cash or converted into cryptocurrency in foreign countries. In exceptional cases, money has been recovered when the person immediately realizes that they fell victim to a scam and quickly contact their home bank to stop the transfer,” Tambre said.
Compared with bank fraud cases, the number of cases of…
