A legislative amendment made digital mail the default – The number of Suomi.fi Messages users rose to 3.5 million in an instant

 – The number of Suomi.fi Messages users has increased dramatically in all age groups. Even so, there is still room for growth as more than four million people use the authorities’ e-services at least once a year. If they have not yet activated Suomi.fi Messages, they will be directed to do so the next time they to identify themselves in an authority’s e-service, says Project Manager Annette Hotari from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

The activation of Suomi.fi Messages has been accelerated in April by, such things as the deadlines for reviewing tax proposals, as the majority of Finns use the Tax Administration’s online e-services for this. However, for some, the next time they need to handle something with an authority may not be until later this year.

You can always return to paper mail

The digitalisation of official mail raises a lot of questions. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will help citizens in questions related to the use of Suomi.fi Messages both by telephone (tel. +358 295 000) and at their own service locations.

– After the amendment entered into force, the number of contacts to our customer service has been four times higher than in previous months. We have handled these contacts efficiently, and we have been able to respond to customers quickly. The most typical issues have been related to the activation of Suomi.fi Messages and the possibility of returning to receiving paper mail, Hotari says.

Hotari points out that Suomi.fi Messages will not be used by those who do not use the authorities’ electronic e-services. They will continue to receive letters from the authorities by paper mail. You do not need to notify the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of this. You can also always return to paper mail.

You can still receive official mail in paper form even if you otherwise use the authorities e-services. You can change the delivery method of letters from Suomi.fi Messages settings to paper mail after you have activated Suomi.fi Messages,” Hotari instructs.

After the law entered into force, only 8% of the people who adopted Suomi.fi Messages have switched back to receiving their official mail as paper post. Over the entire period Suomi.fi Messages has been available –  since December 2017 – a total of only 2% of all adopters have switched back to paper mail.

Scammers also trying to benefit from the change

There have been regular scam messages sent under the guise of being from Suomi.fi Messages the aim at phishing online banking codes. Similar scams exist which are supposedly from several other authorities and private actors, such as banks, insurance companies, and mobile operators. According to the data of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, there have been no significant changes in the number of scam messages sent supposedly by Suomi.fi since the entry into force of the Act.

– Similar scam messages have been prevalent for several years, but now that Suomi.fi Messages is a particularly topical service, these scams are gaining more attention. Unfortunately, criminals will always try to benefit from subjects that is already topical at the time, Hotari says.

The instructions for secure use are the same regardless of the digital service: never click a link in an email or text message. Instead, always access the service in question by typing the address of the service in the address bar of the browser itself. The preferred method is to use a mobile app whenever one is available. This way, you will not end up at the wrong website or service for example because of a spelling error.

Hotari recommends the use of the Suomi.fi mobile application for reading official mail.

– The Suomi.fi mobile application is the most convenient way to read mail from the authorities. Read new messages either in the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in at suomi.fi/messages. Never try to access messages via a link in an email or text message. Suomi.fi Messages does not send text or WhatsApp messages. An email notification of the new message is sent, but it never contains a link for security reasons, Hotari says.

How to use Suomi.fi Messages securely

• Always read the new message either in the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in at suomi.fi/messages. Do not click on links received by email or text message.
• Suomi.fi Messages email notifications never contain links. Suomi.fi does not send text, WhatsApp or other instant messages. Email notifications of messages received in Suomi.fi are sent from noreply@suomi.fi.
• They never require you to act in a hurry, disclose information or click on links under pressure.
• If you suspect a scam, you can verify the authenticity of the message by logging in to Suomi.fi Messages at suomi.fi/messages or by opening the Suomi.fi application.
• Type the address in the address bar of the browser. Do not access the service through search engine results.