AI Voice Scams Drive Millions in Estonian Payment Fraud
A new Visa report reveals that sophisticated criminals using AI-generated Estonian voice calls and exploiting instant payment systems defrauded Estonians of approximately €8 million in 2023, with losses from banking fraud alone skyrocketing to €6.1 million in the first eight months of 2025.
- —Visa's consulting arm has reported a significant rise in payment fraud in Estonia, attributing it to sophisticated social manipulation, AI-driven impersonation, and accelerated instant payments.
- —Estonians lost approximately 8 million euros to fraud in 2023, with investment and banking scams being the primary drivers, a trend that continued into 2024.
- —Banking fraud losses escalated sharply in 2025, reaching 6.1 million euros in the first eight months alone, with June 2025 seeing over 2 million euros lost.
- —Scammers are increasingly using AI-generated Estonian-language voice calls to impersonate officials from banks, police, and health insurance, tricking victims into revealing sensitive information or installing remote access tools.
- —Investment scams remain a significant issue, with losses exceeding 4 million euros in 2024, often involving fake trading platforms that show fabricated returns.
- —The speed of instant payments, while beneficial for consumers and businesses, reduces the time available to detect and intercept fraudulent transactions, complicating recovery efforts due to cross-border money movements.
Recap
The surge in Estonian payment fraud highlights a critical vulnerability in modern finance: the speed of transactions has outpaced security and detection. This is not random crime but a systemic exploitation of digital infrastructure, where AI-driven social engineering creates a powerful tool for manipulation. The substantial financial losses demonstrate that the convenience of instant payments comes with significant risks that require an integrated response from financial institutions, telecom providers, and regulators to prevent further erosion of consumer trust.