Fraud offences and their prevention

The number of fraud offences has been increasing drastically in the 2010s both in Finland and in many other European countries. According to the statistics compiled by the police, the number of frauds and attempted frauds has doubled in Finland between the years 2010 and 2016. The Finnish National Council for Crime Prevention appointed a working group to draw up a review charting the current forms and frequency of fraud offences in Finland and examining the possible means to prevent them. The review focuses on three types of fraud targeted at private persons: online marketplace fraud, identity theft and fraud targeted at older people. The working group stated that one of the most effective measures to prevent fraud is to provide active and proactive information through various channels so that it reaches different target groups, also older people.

Summary of the review and recommendations