"For them, this is a business — a criminal business that brings in a lot of money. There are no real limits for them yet, neither in their skills nor in what they attempt. Most businesses don't just stop and say, 'this is enough for us.' We can view scammers in exactly the same way — they won't stop; they keep trying to improve," said Jaagup Toompuu, head of the Estonian police's fraud prevention and investigation center.

The scheme operates flawlessly and on multiple levels. With the first call or email, the victim is thrown off balance.

"Secondly, they rely on authority. A 'police officer' speaks convincingly, throws around legal terms. And the story they tell is so good — they've practiced it so much. Once people are drawn into that narrative, it becomes very difficult for them to get out," Toompuu explained.

A recent case in which the Estonian Artists' Association lost nearly €700,000 is a textbook example. An employee cooperated with the scammers, personally handed over all company devices and passwords, and believed until the very last moment that they were working with the police.

"From the case descriptions — what people write themselves — you can see that it's almost like they're put under hypnosis. People even say themselves, 'I know better.' And after the Artists' Association case… that wasn't the last one. The police already have new cases on their desks with exactly the same pattern," Toompuu said.

The most common recent scams include fake calls from courier companies claiming a package has arrived, or energy companies offering to replace an electricity meter. In both cases, scammers ask for PIN codes — something neither institution would actually do.

A new scam campaign launched this month claims recipients have unpaid traffic fines. Naturally, there is a link to click — leading straight to handing money over to fraudsters.

At the beginning of the year, impersonation of bailiffs also increased. Victims are led to believe they can settle a claim against them for a fraction of the original amount.

"If the claim against someone was, for example, €7,000, they're told they can settle it today for €500 and everything will be erased. In that case, there's a high probability they'll find a way to pay," said bailiff Risto Sepp.

Fortunately, public awareness has started to improve over time — but it has also increased mistrust. People are less willing to respond to survey callers or let fire safety inspectors in to check smoke detectors. And can you really trust that a bailiff is who they claim to be?

"Over the years, people have told me during proceedings: how can I even believe that you're a bailiff? Even when I show official ID, it's not enough — they say they've seen in American films how such badges can be faked anywhere," Sepp noted.

Although this all may seem like an endless nightmare, some progress has been made against scammers. Mobile operators can now block tens of millions of calls annually. Large telecom companies have also joined forces to combat number spoofing. As a result, there are fewer cases where a call originates from abroad, such as Ukraine, but appears as a local number.

"A new trend is the large volume of calls from foreign numbers. You might receive eight to ten calls in a row from different countries and different numbers. They're difficult to block. We've also deployed a robot to answer these calls to slow them down so they can't reach the next victim as quickly. And when our robot answers, the scammers actually have to pay for the call themselves," said Evelin Neerot, head of connectivity services at Telia.

Changes are also being planned at the legislative level. Although debates are still ongoing, banks will likely soon have greater authority to block suspicious payments.

"If they see that a transfer may involve a criminal, they will have the right to stop it, contact the account holder, and verify whether they truly intend to make the transfer or if it's a case of fraud. Banks will also gain the right to share information among themselves and notify the police and the Information System Authority," said Evelyn Liivamägi, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance believes more attention should also be given to people who do not consume media and may have missed all the warnings about scams. To reach them, the ministry is launching a €300,000 awareness campaign.

"We see that older people — and Russian-speaking communities again — are often the ones targeted by scammers. Many scams have shifted back to cash handovers. So we need to start where these people are — libraries, family doctor centers, bus stops," Liivamägi said.

However, as the police note, new scam cases will certainly continue to emerge. The fight against them goes on.

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