● OVERVIEW OF 2024 Number of incidents with an impact by month 1000 920 800 675 600 400 200 521 439 383 188 206 430 226 243 230 499 438 394 329 658 269 305 647 511 299 337 378 309 0 Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. ● 2023 ● 2024 widespread. These messages direct recipients to fraudulent websites, tricking them into entering their bank card details under the guise of paying a delivery fee. Some victims fall for this even when they haven’t ordered a package recently, only realising their mistake later when checking their bank statements and seeing not tite) grows while their scepticism fades. In the next round, they invest more. As their displayed balance balloons, some, having spent their savings, even take out loans to maximise returns. But when they finally try to withdraw their funds, endless excuses begin: delays, additional fees and new requirements. In some cases, scammers demand further deposits to ‘unlock’ the money – deposits that, of course, are never returned. Eventually, the fraudulent But when they finally try to website disappears altogether, leaving withdraw their funds, endless victims with nothing. excuses begin: delays, additional When CERT-EE identifies such scam sites, it requests their hosting providers fees and new requirements. to take them down, limiting the number of potential victims. However, our reach is not infinite. Ultimately, public awarejust a few euros withdrawn but hundreds or ness and critical thinking are the most effective even thousands. defences against these schemes. Read more Investment scams also spread last year, about various types of scams on page 28. promising fantastic returns. After a temporary lull, alongside stocks, various cryptocurrencies SERVICE DISRUPTIONS, DAY AFTER DAY – some more exotic than others – became a hot commodity for scammers once again. These After phishing and scams, the third-largest catfrauds usually start small: victims ‘invest’ a egory of incidents in 2024 was service disrupmodest sum, often just a few dozen or a couple tions, with an average of two per day. Malicious of hundred euros. Their balance appears to attacks did not always cause these; many resultgrow over the next few weeks, and when they ed from hardware or software failures or even successfully withdraw their initial amount plus well-intentioned but flawed system updates by a supposed profit, their confidence (and appedevelopers and administrators. 10 CYBER SECURITY IN ESTONIA 2025