Fraud help in Finland: take the first steps
A fraudulent online seller, fake banking message or forged employment document can expose more than the money initially requested. Your banking credentials and identity details may also need protection, even if you have not yet noticed a loss. This fraud help guide for Finland brings together practical steps and official resources so you can decide whom to contact and what information to prepare.
Start with the most immediate risk. If money or bank access is involved, contact your bank promptly. Keep the original messages and documents, and write down what happened while it is fresh in your mind. You can ask for help before you have gathered every piece of evidence.
Use the right reporting service
Report the suspected crime to police and contact your bank about payment risks. NCSC-FI receives separate cybersecurity incident reports, while the Positive Credit Register offers tools for monitoring credit and adding a voluntary credit ban. Start with Finland’s official police reporting guidance, then follow the relevant sections below for banking, identity protection and consumer complaints. Keep copies of reports and reference numbers so you can follow up consistently.
Check suspicious letters and payment requests
A real company name, familiar logo or official-looking document is not enough to establish authenticity. Read our guide to company letterhead security and impersonation scams, and learn how secure business communication can help organisations make correspondence easier to verify.
Contact the claimed sender through details you find independently before taking further action. Be cautious of unsolicited recovery offers that demand an advance payment or promise guaranteed results. For incidents involving another jurisdiction, visit the country-by-country Fraud Help directory.
1. Stop Further Losses
Call 112 if you need urgent police assistance or someone is in immediate danger. Use the police reporting service for non-emergency complaints.
Stop communicating with the suspected scammer and do not send more money. Contact your bank immediately if money, card details or account access are involved. Save messages, payment records and suspicious documents. If someone has remote access to your device, disconnect it from the internet and contact your bank from another trusted device.
2. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider
Use your bank’s official app or a trusted telephone number. Explain whether a payment was unauthorised or you were deceived into approving it. Ask about securing cards and online banking, tracing transactions and any available recall or dispute process. Keep a written record of your notification and the bank’s response. Do not send money to a caller’s supposed “safe account”. Recovery depends on the circumstances and is not guaranteed.
If you disclosed Finnish online-banking credentials or approved an identification request, tell your bank immediately and ask it to secure the affected authentication tools. Do not wait for a police or NCSC-FI response before requesting payment protection. Keep the bank’s written response to any dispute.
3. Report the Fraud to Police
Report suspected fraud through the Finnish Police online crime-report service when possible, or contact a police station. Follow the current authentication and reporting requirements. If you cannot access the online service, ask the police how to submit your report. A net tip does not replace the crime-report process for a victim.
Prepare a short timeline, payment records, recipient account details, original messages, website addresses and copies of suspicious documents. Explain how the contact began and what money or information you shared. Keep the complaint reference and any instructions for providing additional evidence.
4. Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud
Individuals and organisations can report actual or attempted information-security incidents, including phishing, to the National Cyber Security Centre Finland (NCSC-FI) at Traficom. Use its official incident form. This technical report is separate from the criminal complaint to police. Preserve URLs, messages, timestamps and relevant technical details without sharing passwords or one-time codes.
5. Protect Your Identity
Notify the issuer immediately if an electronic identification method or identity document is compromised. Report suspected fraudulent accounts or contracts to police. Review unfamiliar credit enquiries and consider the Positive Credit Register protections described below.
Notify every bank, lender, telecom provider or online platform where your identity was misused. Dispute unfamiliar accounts or debts in writing and keep the replies. Change compromised passwords from a trusted device, secure your email first and enable two-factor authentication. If an identity document is lost or stolen, contact its issuing authority about reporting, blocking or replacement.
6. Protect Your Credit
Use Finland’s Positive Credit Register to review your reported loans and which lenders have requested information about you: https://www.vero.fi/en/positivecreditregister/for-private-individuals/
You can set a voluntary ban on credits through the register. Lenders must then assess applications with extra care. Read the option for sharing the ban with credit-reference agencies and its limitations: https://www.vero.fi/en/positivecreditregister/for-private-individuals/voluntary-ban-on-credits/
The ban does not stop use of existing credit facilities. Contact the reporting lender about unfamiliar or incorrect loan information.
7. Consumer-Protection Resources
The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) provides Consumer Advisory Services for consumer-law questions and disputes: https://www.kkv.fi/en/consumer-affairs/consumer-advisory-services/
First complain to the company in writing where appropriate, then follow KKV’s guidance for further assistance. Keep the contract, receipts and correspondence. Suspected crimes still require a separate police report, and a consumer complaint does not itself reverse a payment.
8. Employment and Immigration Fraud
Verify the employer through independently sourced contact details. Keep the job advertisement, offer letter, recruiter messages and payment requests. Report fraudulent adverts to the hosting platform. If you paid money or shared identity documents, contact your bank and police and follow the identity-protection steps above. For immigration claims, confirm the procedure and official fees with the responsible authority or consulate; a professional-looking letter does not prove that it is genuine.
Do not receive or forward money through your personal bank account for an unverified employer. Verify any work-permit claim through the destination country’s official immigration service or consulate. Preserve forged letters and payment requests for police.
Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers
Call 112 if you need urgent police assistance or someone is in immediate danger. Use the police reporting service for non-emergency complaints.
Police reporting: https://poliisi.fi/en/report-a-crime
Online crime or incident guidance: https://kyberturvallisuuskeskus.fi/en/contact-us/e-services/report-information-security-incident
Consumer guidance: https://www.kkv.fi/en/consumer-affairs/consumer-advisory-services/
Report the Fraud
Finnish Police (Poliisi); NCSC-FI at Traficom for cybersecurity incident reports
Official Sources
Received a suspicious business document?
Check whether a document issued through VerifiableLetter is authentic.
Important: This guide provides general information, not legal, financial or emergency advice. Procedures and contact details can change. Confirm requirements with the relevant authority. Reporting does not guarantee investigation, reimbursement or recovery.