The Saeima Commission discussed the pressing issue of phone fraud last week, which, according to social surveys, has already affected 71% of Latvia's residents.
The level has increased by 48%
This has resulted in a significant rise in cases of "scams" over the phone in the republic – from 16 million euros in total for 2024 to 23.7 million in 2025. A total of 6,479 cases have been registered.
"Thousands of people are misled every year, losing both funds and trust in government authorities," the parliamentary opposition's inquiry states. "Fraudsters use emotional manipulation, causing people to act hastily and make ill-considered decisions."
And it is not to say that the authorities have done nothing: on December 16 of last year, the Saeima's Budget and Finance (Tax) Commission discussed the lack of regulation of SIM-boxes in Latvia. This special equipment allows for the installation and simultaneous use of a large number (dozens or hundreds) of SIM cards from different mobile operators. It operates as a GSM gateway, converting internet traffic (VoIP) into regular calls and SMS. It is mainly used by fraudsters to spoof numbers, conduct mass mailings, bypass security systems, and, consequently, earn illegal profits.
What to do?
EU regulations, noted in the Saeima document, already impose obligations on telecommunications operators to prevent such calls. In our country, however, this happens only fragmentarily. In particular, one mobile operator offers automatic blocking of fraudulent calls disguised as Latvian numbers. Of course, the blocking service is not free. Moreover, "the effectiveness of such a solution is limited by the lack of regulation, which does not allow for broader measures." Therefore, it is proposed:
- to grant the Public Utilities Commission the authority to impose requirements and binding rules for telecommunications operators;
- to provide the latter with a "clear legal basis" for limiting fraud;
- to ban SIM box services;
- to introduce harsher penalties for fraudsters posing as representatives of government authorities and financial institutions.
Broad criminal imagination
"The following cases of fraud have been identified," notes the Organized Crime Prevention and Combat Plan, which is set to be completed by 2025:
- fraudsters attempt to obtain remote banking tools or payment card data by posing as bank employees;
- fraudsters or so-called "fake brokers" urge investments in various brokerage/investment platforms;
- fraudsters attempt to extract clients' payment card data using logos of postal companies DPD Latvija and OMNIVA;
- fraudsters post advertisements on social media or classifieds about purchasing and ordering various goods;
- fake calls, SMS, emails on behalf of institutions and enterprises, as well as other types of fraud.
"The situation regarding phone fraud is worsening increasingly," further indicates the inquiry from deputies to Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity). "This type of fraud has become a systematic threat that residents of Latvia face every day, but the ministry is obviously not coping with it."
The country's chief banker, Martins Kazaks, said in an interview with Latvian Radio last month that this subtype of crime in the country "can be called a business." At the same time, the president of the BL urged responsible ministries to stop "dragging their feet." In Lithuania, according to Mr. Kazaks, they deal with such manifestations much more harshly!
On a global scale – 1.03 trillion euros
This impressive figure was presented in a response to deputies by Minister R. Kozlovskis. Thus, Latvia is by no means alone in this problem.
However, it is noteworthy that our losses from fraudsters amount to 0.0023% of the global total. Meanwhile, Latvia's gross domestic product is approximately 0.04% of the world's GDP. Accordingly, the labor euro in our country is protected an order of magnitude higher than in the rest of the world.
Or perhaps due to the small amount of euros in the wallets of workers, fraudsters in Latvia do not particularly exert themselves – deceiving a Swiss pensioner is certainly more profitable than a Latvian one. The less we have, the less they will take from us!
Fighting within capabilities
But law enforcement does not give up: "The State Police, within its competence, cooperates with state and non-state organizations to limit the availability of content that facilitates fraud in the digital environment, as well as to combat phone fraud as much as possible." The police have halted the activities of 5 "call centers," searches have been conducted in Latvia and Ukraine, focusing on investment fraud, fake police officers, fake bank employees, etc.
"Significant results have been achieved both in bringing individuals to justice and in seizing assets — property worth over 3.5 million euros has been seized; 5 individuals have been arrested in Latvia, 6 European arrest warrants have been issued, 102 searches have been conducted, 89 victims have been identified, and 12 individuals have been brought to criminal responsibility, with total damages amounting to 3.1 million euros. The Cybercrime Unit of the Main Criminal Police Department has detained over 200 individuals in various criminal proceedings over the past two years," the Ministry of the Interior reported.
"Friend calls" will continue
The Ministry of the Interior has also developed and is promoting a draft law amending the Electronic Communications Law (24-TA-3267), which aims to establish an obligation for electronic communication merchants to ensure the registration of prepaid service users.
Public discussion of the draft law took place from November 7, 2025, to November 21, 2025. The draft law was submitted to the State Chancellery for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers on February 4, 2026.
The Financial Sector Development Council decided at a meeting to submit necessary amendments to the regulatory acts aimed at reducing fraud in the financial sector to the Ministry of Communications in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers by March 31, 2026.
However, a ban on SIM boxes should not be expected – "the equipment is currently unregulated and is also used for legal purposes," notes R. Kozlovskis. Therefore, only measures to limit its illegal use are anticipated. This means that "friend calls" will continue!
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