The Government met with representatives of the largest banks and the police on Tuesday to follow up on the work against scams. The industry organization Bank Association itself believes that the work to prevent scams has yielded clear results.
The Association refers to statistics from the police that the profits from telephone scams decreased by 40 percent from 2023 to 2024 and that the trend continues in 2025.
It is of course a very welcome development. But we are not satisfied with this. The work must continue. Elderly people should feel joy when the phone rings, not fear, says Strömmer after the meeting.
Problems remain
The Minister of Justice notes that a significant part of the problem remains.
It is a long way to go before we can say that we have reached a level that can be accepted in a decent society, says Strömmer.
The Bank Association's member banks developed an action package in the spring of 2024, which is now largely implemented. It includes, among other things, an improved process for issuing mobile bank IDs and amount limits for payments.
But further measures are needed, the banks believe, and are calling for the possibility of blocking Swish in cases of proven abuse, as well as a more efficient way to share information about money mules with the police.
Take away profits
Minister of Finance Markets Niklas Wykman (The Moderate Party) urged the banks in November 2024 to take away their profits to address the scams, for example to develop IT systems and improve access to customer service.
The banks have very high profits, but they have to a very limited extent invested to secure the safety of customers and the system, says Wykman.
