Estonian financial educator: Even savvy investors can fall for scams
As scams and fraud schemes continue to proliferate in Estonia, investor and financial literacy advocate Kristi Saare warns that even savvy, experienced investors can be duped.
Saare, a board member at mutual asset management company and pension fund provider Tuleva, is also the founder of the nonprofit Women's Investment Club (Naisinvestorite klubi) and longtime cohost of the personal finance podcast Investment Radio (Investeerimisraadio).
After seeing the newly released U.S. documentary "You Can See Everything," she reflected on how easily people can be persuaded to believe claims that seem to good to be true.
The film examines the rise and fall of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors by promising revolutionary blood-testing technology that could run a wide range of tests using just a drop of blood from a fingertip.
The technology failed to deliver, however, and in 2022, Holmes was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Anyone can be outsmarted
"Everyone believed for more than ten years that this miracle was possible," Saare pointed out, noting that Theranos managed to raise more than $700 million from venture capitalists and private investors.
"Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is how her beautiful blue eyes managed to convince so many well-known, educated and wealthy people," she continued, underlining a key takeaway of the documentary.
Saare cautioned viewers against assuming they would have seen through the deception. People naturally want to believe the best of others, she said, especially when a supposedly revolutionary idea has already attracted major investors.
"We don't want to believe that something so big could actually just be an empty house of cards," the financial advocate said.
Scams, fraud still widespread in Estonia
In the first nine months of 2026 alone, victims in Estonia lost a combined €21 million to scammers, including €1.7 million lost by a single company in an invoice fraud scheme known as business email compromise (BEC).
In another high profile case this spring, the Estonian Artists' Association (EKL) lost nearly €700,000 after fraudsters posing as Omniva, bank and Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) employees persuaded its accountant to give them access to the organization's finances.
A record €2.3 million fundraiser art auction held last month will spare the union from having to sell some property to offset the loss.
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Editor: Annika Remmel, Aili Vahtla
