A scam call may no longer sound like an obvious fraud attempt. The caller may speak confidently and in clear Estonian, introduce themselves as an employee of a bank, the police, a courier company, a government agency, or a service provider, and refer to a problem that supposedly needs urgent action.
In addition, more and more technical methods are being used to make the call seem more credible. For example, your phone screen may show the real customer service number of a bank or company, even though the actual caller is someone else entirely.
The main tactic in such calls is time pressure. They try to make you feel that you must act immediately, otherwise you will lose money, your account will be closed, or the damage will become greater. This is exactly when the call recipient makes the most mistakes: the person no longer calmly checks who is calling and what is actually being asked of them.
A scam scheme does not always look the same
In some cases, you are sent a link after the call that leads to a fake website. In other cases, nothing is sent, and instead you are persuaded over the phone to confirm a Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID request. This difference matters, because it determines when Elisa Netivalvur can help and when the outcome is in your own hands.
Multi-step schemes are also being used increasingly often, where the person is kept on the phone for a long time and guided step by step from one action to the next. At first, no PIN codes or banking information are requested at all. Instead, they talk about a suspicious transaction, account security, or an ongoing “investigation” to build trust and keep the person under pressure.
Only after some time is a Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID request sent, presented as “protecting the account”, “stopping the transaction”, or “identifying the person”. By that point, the person may already be under emotional pressure and may no longer critically assess what they are actually confirming.
If a scam link is involved, Netivalvur helps
If a scammer sends a link during a call or message, the person is usually directed to a website that looks like a real service provider environment. It may resemble a bank’s self-service portal, a courier company payment page, or the official site of a service provider. Scammers use familiar logos, similar web addresses, and convincing wording for this purpose.
The pretexts are usually everyday ones and therefore persuasive: you need to pay a parcel delivery fee, update contact details, confirm a payment, enter card details, or avoid service suspension. Usually, there is also pressure added that you must act immediately.
In this situation, Netivalvur is an important extra layer of protection. If the link leads to a known dangerous or suspicious website, Netivalvur blocks it before you can enter your data.
The most dangerous scam call does not direct you to click a link
However, not all scam schemes end with a website or a link. Sometimes a scammer tries to achieve their goal using only the call itself. They may claim that there is suspicious activity on your account and ask you to use Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID to “identify yourself”, “stop the transaction”, or “protect the account”.
Service providers, banks, and government agencies never ask for your PIN codes over the phone. If an unexpected call asks you to enter PIN1 or PIN2, end the call and contact the company or institution yourself through its official customer support.
The biggest point of confusion arises when a person thinks they are protecting their account but is actually confirming an action initiated by the scammer. In that case, Netivalvur cannot help, because there is nothing to block.
By entering a PIN code, a person may themselves confirm logging in to internet banking, a payment, the signing of a contract, or grant access to their account, while believing that they are actually preventing fraud.
Before entering PIN1 or PIN2, look at what action the Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID app is showing you on the screen. Check at least three things:
in the name of which service or company the request is coming;
whether it is for login, signing, or payment confirmation;
whether the action matches what you yourself intended to do at that moment.
Remember a simple rule: do not confirm any Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID request that you did not initiate yourself or that does not match the action you actually intended to perform.
A PIN code is not just a formality
Entering a Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID PIN code may mean logging in, confirming a payment, signing a contract, or approving another important action. PIN2 is especially sensitive, but PIN1 is not harmless either: with it, a scammer may gain access to a service or account.
Scammers often use phrases like “this is only a security confirmation”, “this is not a payment”, or “this will help lock the account”. In reality, PIN2 may confirm a fully binding action, after which money is moved or access to your data is granted.
If someone calls you and instructs you to enter a PIN code, end the call. A real bank, the police, a government agency, or a service provider will not ask you over the phone to enter PIN codes in order to “identify yourself”, “stop something”, or “save the account”.
What should you do if the call seems suspicious?
End the call! Do not argue, do not let yourself be pressured, and do not do anything just because the caller sounds convincing.
Do not open sent links and do not share passwords, bank card details, or your personal identification code, and do not enter Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID PIN codes. If you want to check whether the information given to you has any basis, contact the bank or service provider yourself using the contact details on their official website.
If you have already entered a PIN code or shared sensitive data, contact the police and your bank immediately.
The best protection comes from working together
Netivalvur protects against dangerous websites, malware, and phishing links. It is an important layer of protection in situations where a scammer tries to direct you to a fake page and obtain your data there.
But in the case of a scam call, technical protection alone is not enough. If a scammer manipulates you over the phone into confirming an action yourself, no web protection can prevent that for you. The safest protection arises when a technical solution and attentive behaviour work together.
Remember: Netivalvur protects you in the case of a dangerous link. You can stop the fraud by ending the call, not confirming unexpected Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID requests, and always checking what action is actually being requested before entering a PIN code.
If you want to protect your own and your loved ones’ internet connection, you can do so with Elisa Netivalvur.