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CRIME

Swiss say suspect in au-pair murder case can be deported

A Swiss judge has ruled that a man suspected of killing a 25-year-old American au-pair in Vienna in January can be deported to Austria.

Published: 14 March 2016 12:08 CET
Swiss say suspect in au-pair murder case can be deported
American Lauren M. Photo: Facebook/Private

The 24-year-old suspect had been arrested in February by Swiss authorities in a centre for asylum seekers in the north-eastern town of Kreuzlingen, not far from the Austrian border.

An extradition ruling carried out by the Swiss Federal Office of Justice found that the requirements for the extradition had been fulfilled, although the decision is not yet final as the suspect has 30 days to request an appeal.

The suspect, named as Abdou I. and who is originally from Gambia, is accused of killing the 25-year-old Lauren M., an American student and au-pair who was found dead in her apartment in Vienna on January 26th, having been suffocated.

Lauren M., who had been living in Austria for several years and was a German language student, was reported missing by her employers after she failed to pick up their child from kindergarten.

Firemen then broke down the door to the flat, leading to the gruesome discovery.

Local media reported that the Abdou I., a failed asylum seeker who had lost his right to stay in Austria, had been living with her in the apartment.

He had disappeared after the discovery was made but was found a few days later in the Swiss asylum centre.

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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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