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CRIME

Austrian prostitute’s killer jailed for 18 years

A 28-year-old Swiss man who beat, raped and strangled to death an Austrian prostitute in the canton of Bern in early 2012 was sentenced by a court on Thursday to 18 years in jail.

Published: 4 December 2014 20:43 CET
Austrian prostitute's killer jailed for 18 years
The sports centre in Langenthal, where the body was dumped. Photo: Stadt Langenthal

The incident occurred in the town of Langenthal on March 10th 2012 when the convicted man in testimony earlier this week said he called an escort agency with the goal of raping the 44-year-old blonde, according to media reports.

Forensic experts said the victim died either from being choked or from a stone that the murderer shoved down her throat, the SDA news agency said.

The culprit tried to rape the woman and placed various objects into body orifices before carrying the lifeless body to a sports centre, according to earlier testimony.

He stole money from the woman, dumped the body and drove her car away from the scene.

“I just could not stop,” the defendant, who admitted to ingesting cocaine before the attack, is quoted as testifying, SDA said.

“It was like a movie I could not stop.”

Prosecutor Marcel Meier called the murder like an act that “could be out of a horror shocker,” SDA said.

Chief Justice Samuel Schmid said the act was marked by particular ruthlessness and selfish gratification, according to the agency.

“One could speak of bloodlust.”

The judge ordered the convicted man to receive therapy as part of the sentence.
 

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Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.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of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”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