Finnish innovation stops scam calls - Rest of Europe is following the example
Scam calls cause up to €850 million in losses worldwide every year, but in Finland, this tool used by criminals has been practically defeated. At the end of November, the action Finland has taken to reduce scam calls will be competing for the European Crime Prevention Award, and Europol is highlighting it as a model case.
HELSINKI, Nov. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Elisa was the world's first operator to develop a technical method to identify and block caller ID spoofing. As a result, criminals have no longer been able to use Finnish phone numbers in their scams. In 2023, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) mandated that a scam call blocking solution based on Elisa's innovation be implemented nationwide in Finland. Since then, a type of scam known as a "technical support scam" coming from abroad has been virtually eliminated in Finland. Elisa alone has blocked nearly 26 million scam calls since 2021. Elisa's solution was granted a patent in Finland in 2023, and in November 2025, it was also patented in Europe.
"Our employees developed the solution themselves, and we deployed it in our network back in 2021. This solution has allowed us to eliminate the majority of scam calls received by our customers. Criminals' profits in Finland have dropped from €7 million a year to just a few thousand, meaning Elisa's actions have already made Finland an unprofitable target for criminals. In 2023, other operators also adopted the solution following Traficom's decision," says Karri Jäkkö, Director of Elisa's Cybersecurity and Service Management Center.
Now this scam call blocking solution has been nominated for the prestigious European Crime Prevention Award. The prize will be awarded on 28 November as part of the EUCPN Best Practice Conference. At the end of September, Elisa and Traficom's efforts to reduce scam calls also won Rikoksentorjuntakilpailu, a crime prevention competition held in Finland.
From the Finnish model to an international example
Caller ID spoofing remains a tool for criminals elsewhere in Europe: Scam calls are a significant problem, causing an estimated €850 million in losses worldwide annually, according to Europol.
In October, Europol published a report calling for action at EU level: unified technical standards, closer cross-border cooperation, and harmonised regulation to prevent scam calls and hold criminals accountable. The Finnish model is mentioned as a good example. Foreign operators are also actively seeking ways to block scam calls and are interested in the success of the measures adopted in Finland.
"Finland has succeeded in creating a model that effectively protects consumers and prevents criminals from making scam calls from disguised numbers. It's great to see that this is also attracting international interest. Preventing scams is an arms race between us and the criminals, so we are constantly developing new solutions as well," says Jäkkö.
In addition to blocking scam calls, Elisa has developed a solution to block calls from unknown foreign numbers. Scam text messages can also be tackled with a solution jointly developed by Traficom and operators.
Elisa's actions to reduce scams in Finland
- 2020 - Prevention of "wangiri" scam calls: Elisa can identify and block commonly known wangiri numbers (a scam involving missed calls to prompt a costly callback) as well as potential new numbers and prevent the number from being displayed, so the victim cannot call the attacker's line back.
- 2021 - Elisa develops solution to block number spoofing: Elisa creates a solution that blocks number spoofing, i.e. falsifying Finnish phone numbers and using them in scam calls.
- 2023 - Nationwide implementation of the number spoofing blocking solution: The solution for blocking number spoofing is adopted nationwide by order of Traficom.
- 2024 - Tackling scam text messages: If an organisation has registered their sender name with Traficom, Elisa can block scam messages claiming to be sent by that organisation. For example, the Finnish Tax Administration is one of those who have registered their sender ID, so scam messages claiming to be from the tax authorities will not get delivered.
- May 2025 - Basic security features for consumer mobile subscriptions: Elisa introduces default basic features for consumer mobile subscriptions that protect people using the internet on their mobile phone. These include a secure authentication service (mobile certificate), malicious website blocking and monitoring for data breaches.
- July 2025 - Ability to block calls from abroad entirely: Elisa adds the possibility to completely block incoming calls from abroad using its patented solution.
More information
Elisa Mediadesk, mediadesk@elisa.fi, p. +358 50 305 1605
Elisa is a pioneer in telecommunications and digital services, and our mission is a sustainable future through digitalisation. With over 140 years of experience, we provide sustainable solutions for over 2.8 million consumer, corporate and public administration customers in our core markets of Finland and Estonia, as well as in over 100 countries internationally. In Finland, Elisa is the market leader in telecommunications, and internationally, we offer digital software services. Elisa employs over 6,700 professionals in over 20 countries, and revenue in 2024 was EUR 2.2 billion. Elisa Corporation shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. elisa.com
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