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American arrested over stabbing attacks in Zurich

Swiss police are looking for people who witnessed the stabbings, which took place at two different locations in Zurich on Wednesday morning.

Published: 5 January 2023 11:03 CET

American arrested over stabbing attacks in Zurich

Zurich police are looking for witnesses of the stabbings. Photo by MICHELE LIMINA / AFP

A 38-year-old American citizen reportedly stabbed two people in districts 5 and 1 one hour apart on Wednesday morning, fleeing after each attack, Zurich police said in a press release.

The first victim, whose injuries were severe enough to require emergency surgery, was stabbed at around 9.45 am on Hardturmstrasse, in the area of the VBZ tram stop Fischerweg.

The second attack occurred on Schweizergasse, near the Pestalozzi facility.

The police didn’t specify what the suspect used to attack his victims, just saying it was a “stabbing weapon.”

Based on witness descriptions, the suspect, whose identity beyond his nationality and age has not been released, was apprehended soon after the second attack and is now under investigation for “serious violent crime.”

It is also not known at this point whether the alleged attacker is a tourist or resident, whether he knew his victims, or what his motives were.

The police are asking anyone who witnessed either of the attacks to call them at (058) 648-4848.

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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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