Scams and phishing

People try to scam our customers in many different ways. Phishing messages and calls try to learn their banking details, usernames and passwords, and other personal information.

Never give anyone your details if the request seems suspicious. Phishing can happen by phone, text message, messaging apps, social media and email, as well as online.

By phone

In scams by phone, the scammer might pretend to be a different person or a representative of an organisation, try to clarify personal information, or try to gain access to your computer. Some scammers have pretended to be from Elisa.

Scam calls can seem to be coming from a normal domestic phone number. The goal of these calls can be for the scammer to get their hands on personal information or gain access to a computer. Most phone numbers used by scammers are “spoofed”, meaning that they are not the real number, and it is being used without the real owner of the number knowing anything about it.

We block numbers from being shown when we can tell that the call has actually come from abroad even though the number that they want to display to the recipient seems to be from Finland. By doing this, the recipient sees the call as coming from an unknown number.

Elisa never makes technical support calls in English unless this has specifically been agreed in advance.

By text message or messaging apps

Scams by text message or messaging apps may try to direct people towards a website to pay a fake invoice or get them to enter passwords or other information.

Scam messages can come to your phone in the same message chain as genuine message notifications. Stay alert even if a message seems to come from an official source.

  • Read messages with a critical eye: Are the logos correct? Are there language errors in the message?
  • Does a message seem to be coming from someone you know, but they’re asking about your personal information or login details?
  • Don’t respond to messages that seem suspicious.
  • Never give out your own information – e.g. passwords, card numbers or banking credentials – even if someone asks in a message, or on a webpage that someone sent you a link to in a message app.
  • Don’t click on any links or install anything that is recommended in a message.
  • If there is anything suspicious about a message, it’s a good idea to search for the wording of the message online to see if other people have received similar messages that turned out to be scams.

By email

Email scams often try to get the intended victim to open an attachment or click on a suspicious link. Service providers and other responsible organisations will never ask you for your personal information (such as email login details or passwords) by email.

  • If you are suspicious of an email, don’t respond to it.
  • If a suspicious message includes a link or attachment, don’t open it.

Read more on the National Cyber Security Centre website: https://www.kyberturvallisuuskeskus.fi/en

You can also follow Elisa’s customer bulletins (in Finnish)

Every user of the internet is personally responsible for the use and protection of their connection.

If you want a reliable information security evaluation or help from an expert, contact Elisa Omaguru