Phone scams have increased in Estonia. The scams are mostly conducted in Estonian. The police, banks, and media warn about them, but fraudulent calls continue to rise.
Äripäev journalist Polina Volkova found an advertisement on Telegram offering a job in Ukraine for someone with good Estonian skills. The ad stated that the employer would cover flight tickets and offer bonuses. The salary could be up to 5,000 euros per week.
The police see such ads in instant messaging apps. The ads describe the job and salary in detail.
Pealtnägija and Äripäev journalists conducted an experiment where they offered themselves as scammers. Initially, communication took place via chat. The recruiter spoke with and screened the candidate. If everything was in order, the candidate was passed on to another person who contacted them on Telegram.
After a few days, a job interview was arranged. Russian-speaking journalist Artur Tooman posed as Sergey, a Tallinn resident interested in call center work. During the interview, it was stated that there was no contract, but work could be done.
The police say such recruitments have become more common in the past year. Often, people are recruited into call centers where scams are conducted. The scams work through two calls: the first call, for example, in the name of the health insurance fund, and the second from a bank.
In recent years, major phone scams have occurred in Estonia. There were 59 victims, and about 600,000 euros were stolen. The scammers posed as police officers, bank employees, or tax officials.
The victims were both young and old, simple and highly educated people. Some lost a lot of money. The scammers took both online bank accounts and physical bank cards with PIN codes.
Couriers were also recruited to meet with victims and take their bank cards. In a recent court case, five young people acted as couriers. All were Russian-speaking and around 20 years old.
The couriers received 5-10% of the withdrawn money. The police could not determine who passed the money further.
Darya, one of the couriers, said she later realized she was involved in fraud. She did not know exactly what was happening.
The police tracked down the couriers thanks to victims' reports. Darya and other scammers confessed and were given conditional sentences. They had to repay all the stolen money.
The experiment continued. Recruiters were interested in Estonian-speaking people. They said that if someone spoke Estonian or Lithuanian, the job would be in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. The working conditions were good: a salary of 1,600 euros, free accommodation, and travel.
The recruiters checked the candidates' Estonian skills. In January, another interview took place where this was tested. The candidate succeeded.
When the experimenters started delaying, the recruiter got nervous. They said the candidate would get comfortable conditions and a salary in Ukraine.
The police say it is difficult to catch call center leaders. Although international cooperation is in place, new call centers emerge quickly.
According to prosecutor Neare-Vaarmann, it is easy to hide traces in the cyber world. For example, phone calls may appear to come from Germany, but in reality, it is unknown where they originate.
Darya adds that many working in Estonia are scammers in Ukraine. She believes the scammers will never repay all the money.