The number of scam calls detected and blocked by Telia Estonia fell by 95% between February and June 2026, suggesting that improved network defences are discouraging criminals from making fraudulent calls.

According to figures published by Telia, the operator blocked 2.29mn scam call attempts in February, falling to 858,000 in March, 223,000 in April, 142,000 in May and just 104,000 in June.

Another major Estonian mobile operator, Elisa, reported a similar decline. It blocked 628,456 scam calls during the second quarter of 2026, compared to 5.6mn during the first quarter, a reduction of approximately 89%.

Scam call attempts detected and blocked by Telia Estonia, November 2025–June 2026. Source: Telia Estonia; Commsrisk Global Fraud Dashboard.

Telia attributes the decline to improvements in its fraud prevention systems. In March, the operator changed how its network responds to automated calls targeting numbers that are not in use. Instead of returning an error code, the network plays a recorded announcement informing the caller that the number is not in service. This increases the time required for criminals to scan large ranges of telephone numbers and identify potential targets.

Cease to resist, giving my goodbye
Drive my car into the ocean
You’ll think I’m dead, but I sail away
On a wave of mutilation

This is the final Commsrisk article. The website will continue to host the Commsrisk Global Fraud Dashboard under the stewardship of James Greenley, the software engineer who created it, for as long as he can find financial backers to support that work. Presenting reams of objective data compiled from varied international sources is the best way to build on the platform constructed during the first two decades of this website. Facts and figures need to rule; words are too messy and too easily twisted. My regular narratives about the communications sector end now, not with regret, but with pleasure. I am glad to be released to live a different life to the one that has consumed so much of me.