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Austrian chef Claudia, 44, brutally murdered

Swiss police have identified the 44-year-old woman whose naked body was found by a group of young people turning up to play sport at the Dreifach Sports Hall in Lagenthal on Saturday morning.

Published: 13 March 2012 11:10 CET

The Canton of Bern police department confirmed shortly after the discovery that the woman had been brutally attacked. 

The Austrian chef, referred to by the Swiss media as Claudia B, was last seen arriving at her home in Bäch in Canton Schwyz on Friday late afternoon, laden with shopping bags.

It is unclear how she came to be so far from home, but it is understood that the wig found next to the body was hers. She had apparently owned a variety of wigs to cover up hair loss.

The police are unclear whether Claudia was murdered by someone she had a relationship with, or whether she was a random victim murdered after a chance encounter. 

Claudia was single at the time of her death, her previous millionaire boyfriend having passed away some years earlier, online news website Blick reported.

She lived alone in an expensive apartment and had established a successful business, cooking for people in their homes.

“She knew her craft. She could cook superbly. She was a very affable, vibrant personality. And very professional,” Claudia’s 57-year-old friend, artist Al Meier, told Blick.

Investigations are underway at the Institute of Forensic Medicine to try to determine the cause of death.

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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Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.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Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”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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