Messages of this kind with misleading or fake links are one of the manifestations of phishing. Phishing is a form of fraud aimed at obtaining confidential or sensitive data, taking control of accounts, or confirming a transfer to a fraudster’s account. This type of fraud is one of the most effective and common, and its scale is growing.
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As the latest data from Swedbank shows, although phishing affects practically all age groups of Lithuanian residents, it is most often people over 35 years old who fall victim to misleading SMS messages and emails.
The increase in losses caused by phishing is also confirmed by data from the Money Laundering Prevention Competence Center. Losses from fraud through deceptive links in the first quarter of this year in the country amounted to 1.3 million euros – 53% more than in the previous quarter (October – November 2025).
What does phishing look like?
Short, structured SMS messages and emails, sometimes even with frightening content, accompanied by the names of state institutions, banks, and other organizations, can catch people off guard and prompt them to urgently click on sent links that lead to fake websites. All this and more are manifestations of phishing.
Fraudsters actively follow various current events and use their context: this helps them prepare for attacks. For example, income and asset declarations end in May, so scammers continue to send residents fake messages and emails about allegedly incorrectly declared income, additional payable taxes, and the like for some time.
Meanwhile, in December, misleading messages can affect people due to the upcoming holiday season and the stress it brings, as well as reduced attention to received information.
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Alongside regular information about goods or shipments, people increasingly receive fake messages about alleged taxes or fines. Receiving a lot of information daily, we do not always notice suspicious messages – and this is what fraudsters exploit.
Phone fraud is still relevant
As bank and institution data show, although phishing cases are increasing, vishing – fraud by phone calls, where the same sensitive data is extracted after receiving a call from criminals – is not decreasing. Statistical data show that phone fraud remains one of the most harmful types of fraud: in the first three months of this year, losses from such fraud to residents in Lithuania amounted to 0.71 million euros.
We notice that younger, working-age Lithuanian residents are more often victims of phishing, which occurs almost around the clock. Meanwhile, older people (65+) are more often deceived by phone scammers. Phone fraud cases occur more often on weekdays, in the second half of the day, while on Saturdays and Sundays – only isolated cases. Therefore, it can be said that phone scammers rest on weekends.
The most important thing is vigilance
Links in deceptive messages lead to fake websites that look similar to real institution and company websites. If the received short messages or emails seem suspicious to you, be sure to check the information on official organization websites or by contacting them using their contact information.
Fraudsters constantly improve their skills and strategies. However, it is possible not to fall victim to their attacks, and the most important prevention and security measure remains vigilance and careful verification of received information. Human connections also help protect against fraudsters. Avoiding financial fraud traps often succeeds simply by stopping, thinking, or consulting with a close person.
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