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CRIME

Murder investigators seek help from Interpol

Police investigating the suspected murder of four people in the canton of Aargau one week ago have involved international forces in the search for leads.

Published: 28 December 2015 13:42 CET
Murder investigators seek help from Interpol
Photo: Aargau cantonal police

The cantonal public prosecutor’s office called on the help of Interpol, Swiss media reported.

The 20 Minuten newspaper quoted prosecutor Philipp Umbricht as saying this was standard procedure in a murder investigation.

The charred bodies were found following a house fire in a residential neighbourhood of Rupperswil, a village between Aarau and Lenzbourg.

A murder investigation was opened after the victims were found to have suffered knife and puncture wounds.

Police believe the fire was set intentionally.

The victims were later identified as a 48-year-old woman who lived in the house, her two teenage sons and the girlfriend of the older boy.

Earlier reports said the woman was separated from her husband.

Aargau cantonal police have issued calls for help from the local population.

They released an image from a CCTV camera showing the woman withdrawing money shortly before the crime was committed.

They have also requested dashcam images from car drivers who were in the vicinity of the house at the time.

Prosecutors are reported to be examining information from the town of Wohlen where two people with knife injuries were reported to have sought treatment in a pharmacy on the day of the crime.

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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.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
Updated: 2 May 2024 15:04 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

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Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”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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