The scale of fraud is growing not only in Latvia. Despite repeated warnings from the police, banks, and media, the neighboring Estonia has also been hit by an unprecedented wave of phone fraud.
Last year, residents and businesses lost 29 million euros, according to official statistics from the Estonian police, writes tv3.lv.
How are employees of phone scam call centers recruited? Several Estonian journalists tested this themselves, and the results of their investigation are described by the Estonian public media ERR.
Previously, the language barrier protected Estonians from more significant losses, and the volume of fraud fluctuated between five and ten million euros per year, but now the situation has changed dramatically. A significant role is played by the fact that scammers are increasingly speaking good Estonian.
Recruiting Estonian speakers
"We are seeing more and more that people who speak Estonian are being recruited — both with an accent and in completely fluent Estonian," explained Elari Haugas, head of the serious crimes department of the Northern Prefecture, to the Estonian investigative journalism program "Pealtnägija."
Journalists from the investigative program, together with the editorial team of the newspaper "Äripäev," conducted a journalistic experiment by responding to a job offer from scammers.
An advertisement was posted on the platform "Telegram," offering jobs in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod to people with a good command of Estonian or Lithuanian. Paid airfare, "welcome" bonuses, and salaries of up to 5000 euros per week were promised.
"A specific country and city are even mentioned, the conditions and rewards are described. It is not presented as something illegal — people are simply invited to work," Haugas said.
No contract, the scheme is simple
During the journalistic experiment, initial communication took place in a chat, followed by an "interview" on "WhatsApp." The recruiter openly stated that no official contract would be signed.
"There is no contract. This is not an official project. You just work there. Payments are made every week, no problems," the recruiter said.
The police believe that this is how the staff of call centers is assembled, whose task is to extort money from residents of Estonia.
Haugas revealed a typical scheme: "The first call may be, for example, from the Health Insurance Fund — asking to confirm data using Smart-ID PIN1. Then follows a call supposedly from the European Central Bank or a local bank with a message about fraud and the need to 'save' money. The conversation can last for hours until PIN2 is obtained and transfers or even loans are made."
This model was also revealed in one of the largest criminal cases of phone fraud in Estonia — in six months, about 600,000 euros were stolen from 59 victims. The criminals posed as employees of the financial police, cyber police, tax authorities, and even the central bank.
Youth — just a link in the chain
As part of the case, five young people acting as couriers were detained — they collected bank cards with PIN codes from the victims and withdrew money. Their actions were coordinated by individuals abroad using encrypted communication platforms.
One of the accused, 20-year-old Daria (name changed), admitted: "We took bank cards and withdrew money. There was a person who gave instructions, we just followed them."
She received five to ten percent of the withdrawn amount. The total damage amounted to 600,000 euros, and the court ruled that the young people must jointly compensate this amount. "I don’t know if any of us will be able to pay it back in our lifetime," Daria admitted.
Call centers abroad — hard to reach
The Estonian prosecutor points out that the main problem is the location of call centers abroad.
"The technical capabilities to cover tracks are very broad. A call may appear to be from Germany, but the actual location is unknown. If these call centers were in Estonia, we would have detained them."
Meanwhile, recruiters promise a salary of 1600 dollars, free housing, and 10% of the "deal amount." It is claimed that at least seven Estonian speakers are already working in Uzhhorod.
As one of the journalists involved in the experiment admitted: "The most astonishing thing is that people are willing to go and consciously deceive their compatriots."
