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CRIME

How ‘stealing’ a packet of grated cheese ended up costing a Swiss pensioner thousands of francs

In 2016, a Swiss pensioner was stopped by a security guard at a Denner supermarket in the city of Aarau after buying items worth 120 francs.

Published: 6 September 2018 22:03 CEST
How 'stealing' a packet of grated cheese ended up costing a Swiss pensioner thousands of francs
File photo: Depositphotos

The guard pulled the elderly man aside and went through his bag. Inside, he found a 1.95-franc packet of grated cheese lodged between the very bottom of the bag itself and its cardboard lining.

The packet of cheese, which was squashed flat, did not feature on the man’s shopping receipt.

Read also: Driver fined for failing to go on green light

The shopper was subsequently fined 150 Swiss francs for shoplifting and made to fill in a couple of forms. He was also banned from entering any Denner store in Switzerland for two years.

In a report on the incident, the security guard spoke of the man’s bag as having a false bottom, specifically for the purpose of theft.

The former government worker, now 85, says he had no idea how the cheese came to be in his bag on that day, but believes it may have gone unnoticed after an earlier trip.

The story should have ended there. However, the shopper allegedly broke the ban on entering Denner stores (the firm is owned by supermarket giant Migros) two months later, according to a detailed report of the case in Swiss regional daily the Aarguer Zeitung.

In the second incident, the pensioner was at another shopping mall in Aarau when he paused briefly to look at the fruit and vegetable section outside the front of the Denner store there. However, he did not enter the shop as he knew he was barred from doing so.

But as the man walked on, he spotted the same security guard who had found him guilty of shoplifting two months earlier.

Three months after this second incident, the shopper received a legal complaint from state prosecutors and filed by a representative of the security company hired by Denner alleging he had unlawfully entered the premises of its store by stepping off the beige flooring of the shopping mall and onto the grey flooring belonging to the supermarket.

He was hit with a 500-franc fine, which would only have to be paid if he re-offended, but was also forced to pay costs of 1,000 francs, according to the Blick newspaper.

The man appealed to the district court and saw charges and costs dropped, with the court ruling that video evidence was inconclusive and that the security staff who had lodged the complaint did not have the authority to do so.

But cantonal prosecutors in Aargau disagreed and the case was tried again in a higher court. In November 2017, the pensioner was again found guilty. The fine of 500 francs was reduced to 150 francs but the man ended up paying charges and costs of 2,500 francs.

The shopper told the Aarguer Zeitung he had spent around 10,000 francs on the case to date but did not have heart to take it any further.

On Thursday, Denner told the Blick newspaper the security firm in question was no longer used by the firm.

A spokesperson for the company owned by Migros apologised and said the firm would be in touch with the shopper and pay all costs.

“It is difficult to understand what took place two years ago,” the spokesperson said.

In a Facebook post, Denner said it was investigating the incident and noted the firm had not been a party in the legal case.

For members

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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