This is what we Finns think about fraud

Finns feel most vulnerable when buying and selling online

In our survey, Finns assessed that it would be hardest for them to spot online shopping scams. More than one-third (36%) of respondents felt that they are least able to avoid scams when they are buying or selling goods online. When asked about fake websites, 29% experienced similar uncertainty.

“This is unsurprising, as so many purchases are made online. We can also see that fraudulent online stores are often related to card disputes. For example, people have never received the product they ordered online,” Sara says.

The online trade of second-hand goods also keeps growing all the time. It can be difficult for people to determine whether a seller on an online marketplace is trustworthy or not.

“We recommend that you read the marketplace’s instructions and safety tips carefully. Many platforms offer a trading option where the money is only transferred to the seller once the item has been delivered and inspected,” Sara advises.

Investment and romance scams cause the least concern despite significant financial losses

According to our survey, Finns feel most confident in their ability to avoid investment and romance scams. Only 7% of respondents found investment scams the hardest to avoid. For romance scams, the corresponding figure was just 4%. The difference compared to recognising fraudulent websites, for example, is notable. 

“I’ve noticed this also before: people are not as scared of investment scams even though they are quite common in Finland. Among Nordea’s personal customers, investment scams are the type of fraud that causes the biggest financial losses. Romance scams can also result in substantial financial losses,” Sara says.

According to Sara, victims of investment and romance scams are often manipulated over a longer period, with scammers skilfully appealing to their victims’ emotions. For this reason, these are also called emotional scams. The challenge is that the victim is personally motivated to transfer their money. 

“In investment scams, the fraudster may impersonate an investment adviser who provides instructions and investment tips. We’ve also seen that scams can originate from entirely new places, such as Tinder, where a new acquaintance may suddenly begin offering investment advice.”

Scam messages worry more people than vishing – but vishing leads to greater financial losses

In the survey, 22% of respondents felt that scams attempted via email or text message, such as phishing, are the hardest to avoid. Uncertainty increases sharply with age: older generations feel less confident about their ability to spot fraudulent messages than younger people. 

“Phishing is now more common than ever before. At Nordea, we have invested heavily in technology and in raising customer awareness. Even though the number of phishing attempts is high, we have managed to significantly reduce financial losses. In over 90% of the phishing cases we handle, no losses occur,” Sara says.

The number of voice phishing, or vishing, attempts has increased sharply in Finland in the past couple of years. In these fraudulent calls, the scammer might pretend to be a bank employee and manipulate the victim into transferring money to a “safe” account. However, only 13% of our survey respondents were not confident about their ability to avoid vishing. There were hardly any differences between age groups.

“Our own statistics show that this year, vishing has caused the second highest amount of financial losses. The scammers speak fluent Finnish and can be very convincing. They also create a sense of urgency, and in a panic, people are more likely to do as they’re told and transfer their money,” Sara explains.

The survey was conducted in August 2025 as part of our more comprehensive Nordic Pulse survey with altogether about 4,000 respondents between 18 and 79 from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. There were about 1,000 respondents from each country. The respondents were chosen to correspond to the national age, gender and regional distribution, ensuring that the sample represents the views of the entire population in a balanced way. 

With our Nordic Pulse survey, we want to measure the financial wellbeing in Nordic societies in terms of sustainability, personal ambition, belief in the future and financial literacy. The survey was conducted in August 2025.