Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Supreme court orders release of violent youth

Switzerland’s top court has ordered the release from detention of a teenage violent offender who sparked controversy over the lavish therapy he received.

Published: 24 February 2014 16:28 CET
Supreme court orders release of violent youth
The Federal Court ordered Carlos's release. Photo: Bundesgericht.jpg

Upholding a legal complaint from the 18-year-old known as Carlos, the court said the youth should be released within ten days from the closed unit where he is being held, according to the Swiss news agency SDA.

It overturned the original ruling by the Zurich high court that had ordered his detention.

Carlos was admitted to the unit after public outrage when media revealed his therapy programme allowed him to live in a four-room apartment at a reported cost of 29,000 francs a month.

In its ruling the Federal Court said Carlos’s “special treatment” had been broken off abruptly under public and media pressure, and had nothing to do with his behaviour.

It ordered the Zurich authorities to find an alternative to detention in the closed unit.

The youth has a history of violent offences, and stints in juvenile detention and treatment in a psychiatric hospital reportedly failed.

His case came to light last August in the public affairs show “Reporter” on SRF, the German-language state broadcaster.

The programme revealed that the youth was supported by a 10-person team.

Media subsequently reported that the canton of Zurich had spent 960,000 francs on Carlos and his entourage of a social worker, lawyer and Thai boxing coach.

Carlos was charged with a string of offences including robbery, weapons possession, drug use, threats and assaults.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

CRIME

How to avoid the ‘police’ phone scam in Switzerland

The Swiss government has issued a warning about an increasing number of fake calls purporting to be from police. But there are ways to avoid this scam.

Published: 18 April 2024 13:20 CEST
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

SHOW COMMENTS