There has been new twists and turns in the summer of 2023 in the criminal procedure concerning the data break-in at Vastaamo that affect the position of the victims. The police have investigated the information on the nearly 33,000 victims. The victims that have not reported the crime will also become plaintiffs in the criminal procedure.
The National Bureau of Investigation has now found out all the plaintiffs that have fallen victims of extortion attempts and dissemination of information violating personal privacy in the data break-in at Vastaamo in October 2020. They are about 33,000 in total and about 10,000 of them have not reported the crime.
There is more information and directives for the victims on the police’s website: Poliisi: Vastaamo-esitutkinta valmistumassa ja siirtymässä syyteharkintaan
In short, victims do not necessarily need to take any new action.
The police have previously asked the victims to file a report of the crime themselves because the police were prohibited by court order from investigating the crime victims via Vastaamo’s client database. Now, however, the police have obtained information of all the victims in another way.
Since an attempt of aggravated extortion is an indictable offence, the police must also register the 10,000 victims who for some reason have not reported the crime as plaintiffs in the criminal procedure. However, this does not apply to the criminal classification of dissemination of information violating personal privacy, which is a crime in which the prosecution rests with the plaintiff.
Therefore, many victims who have decided to put the case behind them are also included in the criminal procedure.
What is an indictable offence? Most crimes are indictable offences, the police may then investigate the crimes and the prosecutor may prosecute, even if the plaintiff does not demand punishment for the crime.
As prosecution must be brought soon, there is no time to register individual crime reports for these 10,000 victims. Therefore, one crime report is registered with the National Bureau of Investigation in which these victims are attached as plaintiffs.
The names of the plaintiffs are not disclosed to others in the criminal procedure, for example to other plaintiffs. This applies to all 33,000 plaintiffs, regardless of whether the crime was reported by themselves or by the police.
The schedule is very tight. The pre-investigation will be completed in August 2023 and the case will be transferred from the police to the prosecutor. Due to the urgent schedule, the 10,000 victims who are registered now do not have time to give a statement before the case is transferred to the prosecutor.
This criminal procedure only covers the extortion attempts and the dissemination of information that violates privacy that occurred on 23–25 of October 2020. Crimes that have occurred after this are not included in this criminal procedure; a separate crime report has to be made regarding these crimes.
What you can do next:
If you have not reported the crime but you know that you are a victim of the crime you should
- Wait for further information from the prosecutor or the district court.
- Make a credit ban and other necessary protective measures. More information: https://www.riku.fi/en/what-to-do-if-your-personal-data-has-been-leaked-online/
- As the deadline for bringing charges is approaching, in practice you no longer have time to give a statement even if you have been registered as a plaintiff due to an attempt of aggravated extortion.
- You still have time to claim for compensation later.
- As an attempt of aggravated extortion is an indictable offence you cannot entirely withdraw from the criminal procedure. However, you can let the case be if you want to and you do not have to do anything.
If you are unsure whether you are a victim and want to look into this, you should
- Wait for further information from the authorities.
If you have reported the crime and given a statement, you can
- Wait for further information from the prosecutor soon.
- Even if you did not remember to add the exact details of the extortion message to the crime report or the statement, it does not matter anymore since the police have been able to find out who fell victim to the extortion attempt. Thanks to this, you also do not need to provide additional information about the extortion, such as claims for damages, to the prosecutor.
If you have reported the crime but not given a statement, you should
- Wait for further information. Since the identity of the plaintiffs has been investigated in other ways the statement form is of less importance than previously indicated.
Support and practical advice
Victim Support Finland provides discussion assistance and practical advice:
- Victim Support Finland 116 006is available in Finnish Mon-Fri from 9 am–8 pm and in Swedish from 12 am–2 pm. The call is free of charge. During summer 19/6–11/8 2023 the service is open weekdays at 9 am–3 pm. On the 14 of August 2023 we will return to normal opening hours.
- RIKUchat available weekdays at 9 am–3 pm and Monday evenings at 5–7 pm.
The National Prosecution Authority also provides practical advice by phone: https://syyttajalaitos.fi/en/vastaamo_english