The number of reported fraud crimes increased by 21.9 percent between 2022 and 2023, and the total criminal profits for fraud in the latter year landed at a whopping SEK 7.5 billion.
In all cases it appears to be fraud through social manipulation.
– The crime victim is manipulated into sending money himself or doing something wrong such as letting the perpetrator into his computer via remote control software, has Lotta Mauritzsonco-ordinator at the police’s national fraud centre, previously said in a press release.
– So many frauds are reported every year that we will never be able to investigate them. We must by all means find measures that prevent the crimes from being committed, that is, prevent the crimes.
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Photo: Daniella Backlund/SvD/TT
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Many companies have warned of fraud
However, in the past months of 2024, the fraud attempts do not seem to have stopped. Instead, a multitude of authorities and companies – including the Swedish Tax Agency and DB Schenker – have sounded the alarm that fraudsters are posing as representing them in both email and text messages.
In this way, the fraudsters want to instill trust in the recipient, in the hope of being able to access sensitive information and subsequently money.
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Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT
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Ellevio warns of fraud attempts
Now another company is going out and warning its customers about fraud attempts.
This time it is the electricity company Ellevio, with just over a million customers, who have been alerted to the fact that their brand is being used in phone calls and text messages that have been sent to several customers in Central Sweden lately.
According to the electricity company, people have been called by someone who claims to represent or collaborate with Ellevio and who then asks customers to provide sensitive information or to identify themselves via a link in a text message.
Photo: Mickan Mörk/TT
But hidden in the fine print are “payment demands of between SEK 9,000 and 15,000”, the company writes in a press release.
– We want to urge all our customers to be vigilant about this type of call. We never contact customers that way, so if you get a call and feel unsure about the purpose of the call – hang up. Feel free to contact Ellevio’s customer service on 0771-53 53 00 if you have any questions, and if you consider yourself a victim of attempted fraud, you should contact the police, says Jenny Törnquist on Ellevio i a press release.
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Customers are advised to be vigilant
When News24 asks Ellevio if any customer has actually lost money as a result of the fraud or if it has stopped at attempted fraud answers Elina Janssonpress secretary at the company, as follows:
– Since this type of fraud is aimed at the individual, I cannot answer that. It has come to our attention that it does, so we have issued a warning. If you judge that you have been exposed to fraudsters, you should call the police.
Photo: Martina Holmberg/TT
All Ellevio’s customers should also have received an email asking them to be vigilant. They have also included a list of information and tips:
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