The Government met with representatives of the largest banks and the police on Tuesday to follow up on the work against fraud. Before the meeting, the Bank Association sent out a press release stating that the banks' work to counter fraud has yielded clear results.
The Association refers to statistics from the police that the profits from telephone fraud 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. Older 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.
The Bank Association's member banks presented a package of measures in the spring of 2024 and most of the measures have been implemented. According to the Association, an improved process for issuing mobile bank IDs and the introduction of amount limits for payments have had a very good effect.
However, it is noted that some measures that could contribute to further increasing customer protection remain – including that there should be an opportunity for banks to block Swish in cases of proven abuse.
Money mules
The Bank Association is also calling for a more effective way to share information about money mules with the police. In addition, a national e-identification is requested and the introduction of a register for representatives.
Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman (The Moderate Party) urged the banks in November 2024 to use their profits to address the fraud.
Wykman believed that there were serious deficiencies in the banks' measures to protect customers and stated that it would cost money to rectify these deficiencies, for example for increased accessibility to customer service and developed IT systems.
