Advance-Fee Scams in Iceland
Classic advance-fee fraud reaches Icelanders via email and social media in English, with promises of lottery winnings or inheritance proceeds requiring upfront fees.
Part of: Advance Fee Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Despite Iceland's strong digital literacy, advance-fee scams continue to find victims among Icelanders, primarily through English-language email campaigns that exploit the population's comfort with English and their engagement with international business and travel.
Scams tailored to Iceland sometimes reference the country's international standing or Icelandic banking connections to seem more credible. The Consumer Agency (Neytendastofa) and police cybercrime unit receive regular reports of these cases.
How this scam works on Iceland
An email or LinkedIn message claims the recipient has been identified as the next of kin or beneficiary of a dormant Icelandic or international bank account. A legal firm requests a fee — often a few hundred euros — for document processing. A separate lottery variant claims the recipient has won a prize in a UK or European draw.
Business email compromise variants target Icelandic companies, impersonating suppliers or partners and requesting a change to bank transfer details before a large invoice payment. The new account receives the funds and the scammer disappears.
Some operations impersonate well-known Icelandic businesspeople on LinkedIn, offering investment partnership opportunities that require a good-faith upfront payment to secure the deal.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited email or LinkedIn message about unclaimed funds or a prize you did not enter
- Any upfront fee required to release a prize or inheritance
- Request to change a supplier bank account number received via email without phone verification
- Professional claiming to represent a legal or banking institution using a free email address
- Communication is urgent and asks for confidentiality
- Fee is described as 'refundable' or 'government-mandated' to seem legitimate
How to protect yourself
- Any prize or inheritance requiring an upfront payment is a scam — do not engage
- Verify any bank account change request from a supplier via a known phone number before approving
- Confirm the identity of any LinkedIn contact claiming to be a named Icelandic business figure
- Report suspicious emails to Iceland's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IS)
- Train accounts payable staff on business email compromise indicators
- Enable dual-approval processes for bank transfers above a threshold in your business
How to report it
- Report to Iceland Police cybercrime unit at logreglan.is
- Report phishing emails to CERT-IS at cert.is
- Report to Neytendastofa if the scam was disguised as a consumer offer
Frequently asked questions
What is business email compromise and how common is it in Iceland?
Business email compromise (BEC) involves fraudsters impersonating suppliers or executives to redirect payments. Iceland's internationally active business community makes it a target. Verify all payment-detail changes by phone using a number already in your records — never a number from the email.