What is identity theft?

Identity theft is when criminals use stolen personal details to commit fraud. A criminal committing identity theft uses someone else’s identity to trick third parties on purpose, causing damage to the victim. 

The criminal may, for instance, take out payday loans or subscribe for phone plans or other services in the victim’s name. In addition to the victim and the criminal, there may also be third parties involved. These could be stores or other service providers which the criminal has tricked by using a stolen identity. 

How to spot identity theft

The victim of identity theft is often unaware of the crime until they receive invoices or are charged for services, products or subscriptions they didn’t sign up for. They may also spot payments on their balance statement or in their account transactions that they don’t recognise.

Identity theft often causes prolonged stress and uncertainty for the victim, as it may take time to find out the full scope of the theft and the damage. Despite investigations, the victim may not fully ever know the purposes for which the criminal has used or tried to use their details. 

As with many other scams, the best way to stay safe is to learn how to identify these risks and prevent these crimes from happening. 

Identity theft often results from a data breach. Criminals may obtain your personal data 

  • in a data breach 
  • by using fake websites to steal your data or 
  • by capturing your post.

They may also try to watch you enter your card details when you make payments. For this reason, it’s important to protect your personal details by removing your address from discarded post, submitting your personal details only to trustworthy websites and covering your card details with your hand when you enter them to make a payment.  

What to do if your identity has been stolen

  • If your card details or online banking credentials have fallen into the wrong hands, contact your bank or the blocking service immediately.
  • If you spot card transactions that you don’t recognise, dispute the transactions.
  • Contact the police and file a police reportOpens new window.
  • If you want to prevent criminals from taking out loans in your name, you can set a voluntary ban on credits for yourself in the positive credit register.
  • Criminals may set up a new address for you for deceptive purposes. Check with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and Posti that the address they have on you is correct. If your address has been changed unbeknownst to you, provide them with the correct address.
  • Keep any documents related to the fraud, such as invoices and order confirmations, and contact the third parties involved in the fraud, such as the stores in which the criminals made purchases using your stolen personal data.
  • Remember that you don’t need to deal with this situation alone. We encourage you to talk to friends or family. You can also contact Victim Support FinlandOpens new window.

Tips for preventing identity theft

  • Set up multi-factor authentication whenever possible.
  • Change any passwords that may have been compromised. Don’t use the same password for multiple services.
  • Prevent your personal details from falling into the wrong hands. Don’t discard post that includes your personal details. Switch to e-invoices to reduce the number of traditional invoices you receive by post.
  • Only share your personal details with people you trust. Carefully assess whether it’s safe to enter your personal details on a website and what personal details you should share on social media.
  • Cover your card PIN when you enter it at checkout, or use contactless payments.
  • Make sure you keep your devices, software and malware protection up to date.
  • In some cases, it may be advisable to request non-disclosure of your data from the Digital and Population Data Services AgencyOpens new window and TraficomOpens new window.