The Central Bank of Estonia hosted a public seminar on preventing payment fraud, arguing that while scams cannot be eliminated, they can be made harder to run through rapid adaptation, stronger preventive controls and closer cooperation across banks, telecom operators and law enforcement without materially eroding the speed and convenience of Estonia’s digital payments. Deputy Governor Andrus Alber said legislation is being drafted to make it easier for banks and police to share information about scammers and to improve banks’ ability to stop payments when fraud is suspected. Speakers pointed to both operational measures and behavioural risks. Telia reported blocking around 24 million scam calls in 2025 and, together with the other two large telecom operators, around 35 million, while highlighting caller-ID spoofing as a key challenge and arguing for protection mechanisms to be adopted across all communications service providers, including smaller firms. Law enforcement reiterated that state institutions do not request PIN codes by phone and warned about pressure tactics such as claims of “secret operations”. The seminar also discussed whether to require anti-fraud controls from all service providers whose systems are used by scammers, and cautioned that making mobile number transfers “lightning quick” could increase the risk of number hijacking and compromise digital identities. Alber indicated he expects the proposed legal change to be adopted quickly; the event formed part of Eesti Pank’s ongoing public seminar series on topical issues affecting the Estonian economy.

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