You may see Internet ads that look as if a celebrity was praising a new investment product. Fraudsters may also call or email you to offer an investment product promising exceptionally high returns.
The ad may be supported by a fake news article that, at a quick glance, seems as if it has been published by a well-known media channel. Fraudsters may even have made a fake web page showing falsified information on investment returns. In reality, invested funds go to the fraudsters and for financing criminal activity, and getting the invested money back is not possible.
In many cases, fraudsters ask people to install a remote access software to the computer. After receiving the remote access, the fraudster seeks to manoeuvre investors into taking various measures, such as revealing their personal details on the online service. If the fraudster is given access to the computer through remote access, the fraudster may collect information and make payments from a bank account when the online service session is open.
Tips for avoiding scams:
- If you are contacted by phone or email or you see an appealing investment product advertisement on the web that promises exceptionally high returns, you should take it with a grain of salt.
- Even if the ad shows the logo of a bank or other trustworthy operator, you should contact the customer service of the bank or other operator by using contact information on their website to make sure that the ad is genuine and not a scam using the operator’s logo.
- Before you invest in any investment product, check the company’s details and make sure that they have the appropriate licence and that they are not included on the warning list of the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA). Click or tap here to view the list on FIN-FSA’s website
- Remember that reliable operators never ask you to install any remote access software on your computer.
- If you suspect that you have fallen victim to fraud or that remote access software has been installed on your computer, you should immediately contact OP’s Customer Service at 0100 0500. Outside the telephone service hours, deactivate your user identifiers or card by calling the Deactivation Service, tel. +358 20 333 (24/7). Also remember to call our Customer Service during service hours to report the incident.
- If you suspect that remote access software has been installed on your computer, have it cleaned by a professional before you use your new identifiers on the device.
How are scams changing?
Criminals are constantly seeking new ways of scamming people. Next we are likely to see so-called deepfake videos that appear as if a celebrity is promising exceptionally high returns on an investment product. The videos may look very real but they are not.
Example of a phishing email: