THL warns of scam text message

A text message has been sent pretended on behalf of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) about the merger of THL's services and Kela's Kanta services.

The message is a hoax and the services are not being combined, said THL in a press release on Friday.

Action is required from text message recipients, but it's important not to click on the link in the message. The link redirects to a fake Suomi.fi login page, where online banking credentials are phishing.

Janne Rintamaa, Information Security Manager of THL, said that cybercriminals use various technical and psychological methods to trick message recipients. The scam messages look real and trustworthy.

"Links in messages should not be opened, as the link may redirect to fake pages phishing for bank credentials or other login credentials, such as email login credentials. It is good to remember that banks or other operators will never need your personal credentials to provide support. Don't share them in emails, over the phone, or otherwise. If you identify yourself on a scam page with your online banking credentials, they will be taken over by criminals," Rintamaa said.

However, if the link has already been opened and the bank credentials have ended up in the hands of the criminal, THL advised the people to contact bank immediately to close the account.

"In scam messages, it is typical to create a sense of urgency to prevent some threatening situation, or the message is too good to be true. A moment's consideration is then in order," said Rintamaa.

Phishing is currently one of the biggest online threats and a major form of social engineering.

Smishing is a form of phishing that involves phishing using a text message or other instant messaging application.