Advice for victims of identity theft or data breaches

What is identity theft

Identity theft entails using someone else’s identity. To this end, perpetrators of identity theft make use of another person's personal data, identification data or other information that can be used to identify an individual. Such information includes names and address details, personal identity codes, phone numbers and online banking credentials.

In practice, identity theft may mean assuming the identity of another person and using it to make a purchase at an online store, which is then billed to the victim of the identity theft.

Criminals use a number of methods to collect the personal data required to commit identity theft, including exploiting data leaks on the internet or perpetrating phishing scams. The kind of personal data used to commit identity theft has recently been obtained by criminals via scam phone calls in which they have claimed to represent technical support.

What can I do if I have been the victim of identity theft?

If you have fallen victim to identity theft or your personal data has been disclosed as a result of a data leak, you can take the following steps to protect your information.

1. Prevent financial damage. If a criminal has gained access to your online banking account or your credit card details, contact your bank immediately.
2. Report the offence to the police. You can file a report online. (External link)
3. Apply for a personal credit ban (“oma luottokielto”). In order to ensure that the ban is comprehensive, it should be applied for using both the Suomen Asiakastieto Oy (External link) and the Bisnode Finland Oy (External link) services. The credit ban is subject to a fee.
4. Apply to the Finnish Patent and Registration Office for a registration ban (External link).  Also make sure that any existing information cannot be altered without first contacting you at a specific phone number or email address.
5. Apply for a ban on address changes or address change protection via Posti’s customer service (External link). 
6. If criminals have gained access to the picture or details of your identification, notify the police of a lost document (External link) and apply for new identification.
7. Consider protecting your address information. (External link)

If your personal and address data require particular protection, consider applying for a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons and address protection. Applications for a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons can be submitted to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. (External link) The decision to apply should be based on careful consideration. The need for a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons must always be justified, and an application is required in all cases.

Read more about identity theft

Contact the following organisations for more information on identity theft.

• Victim Support Finland (RIKU):
  How can I protect myself from identity theft and reduce the risks of other crimes resulting from it? (External link)
  What to do if your personal data has been leaked online (External link)
• ENISA: 
  ENISA Threat Landscape 2020 - Identity Theft (External link)  

In Finnish

Police of Finland:
Identiteettirikokset ja kohdistetut hyökkäykset tietorikosten nousevia ilmiöitä (External link)

Office of the data protection ombudsman
Jos sinulta häviää henkilötietoja (External link)
Jos joudut tietoturvaloukkauksen kohteeksi (External link)

The Security Committee
Kodin kyberopas – ohjeita digitaaliseen arkeen