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Zurich victim in Spiez orphanage murders

The woman victim in a double murder at a Spiez orphange in the canton of Bern was formally identified as a 51-year-old resident from the canton of Zurich, police said on Wednesday.

Published: 15 May 2013 18:18 CEST

Zurich victim in Spiez orphanage murders

The villa housing the orphanage where the two bodies were found. Photo: Pädagogische Lebensgemeinschaft

Bern cantonal police said the woman, who died after being stabbed by a sharp object, knew the other victim, a 53-year-old man who was manager, co-owner and co-founder of the privately run children’s home.

The bodies of the pair were found on Saturday at the orphanage, located near the Spiez train station.

The man, previously identified, was also stabbed with a sharp object.

Police said they had completed their search of the three-level villa and specialists were examining the evidence collected.

Nine children ranging in age from five to 14 years of age, who were being looked after at the home were relocated to other facilities, the Bern cantonal department for youth said.

Police have not yet announced whether they have found the murder weapon.

On Monday, investigators appealed for help from witnesses who may be able to provide information about what happened.

Inspectors from across the canton of Bern are involved in the investigation, which is “continuing in all directions”, police said.

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How to avoid the 'police' phone scam in Switzerland

Switzerland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has been monitoring the phenomenon of fake calls from alleged police authorities for nine months now.

But in the last three weeks, reports of this scam have almost tripled, the NCSC said, indicating just how widespread it is.

What is this about?

The scam begins with a call coming, allegedly, from police or another Swiss authority.

A voice, which the NCSC describes as ‘robotic’, informs the person who answers the call that their personal banking data is involved in criminal activities, or makes a similar alarming (but false) claim.

According to the NCSC, “it is not a person who calls, but a software The machine randomly tries Swiss phone numbers throughout the day. If the number is invalid, it simply moves on to the next one.”

“By using this software, the number of calls that can be made is virtually unlimited. It could go through practically all the phone numbers in Switzerland in a day,” the Centre adds.

After raising alarm about your bank account, the fake ‘policeman’ will urge you to “press 1” to be put in touch with a human being and obtain more information.

If you do this and, worse yet, divulge your personal data to the caller, you risk having your computer and credit card hacked.

What should you do (and not do) if you get this call?

The most obvious answer is to immediately hang up because, as the NCSC explains, “real police never play recorded phone messages. They also never ask for money or sensitive personal data over the phone.”

To that end, the Centre recommends that anyone receiving this call:

Should hang up as soon as you hear the recorded message
Not press 1, or any other numbers, during the telephone conversation
Not get drawn into a conversation.
Never grant access to your computer, not even via remote maintenance software.
Never reveal prepaid card activation codes.

A fake tax refund

While the ‘police scam’ is the latest attempt at extortion reported to the NCSC, it is far from a unique case.

Scores of them are reported to the authorities each year, including the one reported earlier in 2024.

It involved phishing emails about alleged tax refund entitlements.

However, the link in the email leads to a phishing page.

Here too, authorities advise to ignore these emails, not click on the link, and not enter any personal data on the phishing page.

READ ALSO : The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of

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