Dagens industri: FI Adds 40 to Fraud List; Rusta's Quality Strategy Boosts Sales

Sweden's financial supervisory authority, Finansinspektionen (FI), has added 40 new entities to its list of unauthorized financial service providers, Dagens industri reports. FI warns of escalating fraudulent activity targeting consumers via social media and telephone. In a press release, consumer protection economist Moa Langemark stated that these listed firms are “fraudsters who are trying to trick consumers out of money.” FI specifically cautioned against the rise of "recovery room" scams, which they termed “fraud on top of fraud,” where victims of previous fraudulent schemes are re-targeted and charged fees under the pretense of recovering their lost funds. In a separate business report, Dagens industri highlights Rusta's quality strategy, which utilizes independent testing company Testfakta to enhance both sales and sustainability efforts. Jesper Bondesson, Sustainability Manager at Rusta, reports that the partnership with Testfakta and their "Verified" quality label has resulted in measurable sales growth across Rusta’s markets in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Germany. Several product categories, including wall paint, towels, and vacuum cleaners, now feature the Testfakta label. Bondesson emphasized the value of the partnership, stating, “Testfakta's marking builds trust for Rusta and its impact on sales is fantastic. A marking almost always means a double-digit sales increase, and in some cases even more.” Klaus Hahn, CEO of Testfakta, explained that their testing evaluates product characteristics that consumers cannot easily assess independently. Rusta leverages Testfakta's test results to inform decisions regarding product assortment, supplier selection, and product development, thereby incentivizing suppliers to improve product quality based on objective data.