Beware of identity theft
Identity theft can be targeted at private individuals and companies alike. A stolen identity is often used in fraud, such as making purchases, taking out instant loans, and obtaining subsidies and benefits.
Criminals are keen to exploit companies as a means of committing crime, including fraud and tax offences. For example, companies become victims of identity theft when criminals hijack the identity of a company with a good reputation and operate under its name for a while. Identity theft hides the true perpetrator of the crime from the authorities in cases of VAT refund fraud or claiming groundless withholding tax, for example.
Traditional consumer and company scams are carried out under the cover of both hijacked companies and new companies established for short-term use.
Read more about identity theft and the professional exploitation of companies as phenomena.
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<li class="attention-block__content"><strong>Protect your personal data</strong> appropriately, particularly your personal identity code and online banking codes. The authorities or banks will never ask you to provide your password or username by email or text message, and the same goes for trustworthy online services and social media platforms.</li>
<li class="attention-block__content"><strong>Adopt a mindset of healthy scepticism regarding offers</strong> you see online or receive by telephone. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.</li>
<li class="attention-block__content"><strong>Contact the authorities if you suspect a crime.</strong> The sooner identity fraud can be responded to, the smaller the scope of the fraud is likely to be.</li>
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<li class="attention-block__content"><strong>Identify risks and be proactive.</strong> It is essential to take effective proactive measures to prevent damaging situations and financial losses. This means identifying risks and implementing the necessary protective measures. Check regularly whether your company’s details in various information systems (such as the Trade Register) are accurate and unchanged.</li>
<li class="attention-block__content"><strong>Use training and communication to increase awareness among your personnel.</strong> Training and communication to emphasise that malicious information gathering is a common threat are important for increasing security awareness among your personnel and make successful phishing attacks less likely.</li>
<li class="attention-block__content"><strong>Be prepared for the worst-case scenario</strong> where damage has already been incurred. This means being prepared for quickly investigating situations, minimising damage, rapid recovery and careful communication planning.</li>
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<p>More information about <a href="/link/7278f7bb8e18478489a4abc4706379b4.aspx">preventing identity misuse</a> is available at vero.fi. The article also features four videos on how to prevent and combat identity fraud. The “Follow the Identity” videos were designed and produced in the ID Criminality project under Nordisk Agenda, the cooperation network of Nordic tax administrations. The videos are subtitled in Finnish and Swedish.</p>
Act correctly to combat the shadow economy and financial crime
Page last updated 1/2/2023
