Fraudulence disguise of police on rise

The Helsinki police has revealed that a number of cases have been brought to their attention in February of conmen attempting to obtain bank cards, access bank accounts or obtain online banking information of especially elderly people.

The fraudsters have been masquerading as police officers and in some cases the fake police officers have gone to peoples' homes, police said in a bulletin.

"The fraudsters have claimed to be investigating a crime or an erroneous payment and needed information to correct the situation. Some of the complainants refused to provide information, but at least they (fraudsters) succeeded in withdrawing hundreds or even thousands of euros from the bank accounts," said police detective Kari Martikainen from the Helsinki police department.

The police said that there has been a recent incident where a caller claiming to a bank employee had asked for information to correct an erroneous transaction.