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Murder probed amidst deadly falls in Swiss Alps

An investigation is under way into a possible murder after the remains of a 39-year-old Swiss man were found at the bottom of a cliff in the canton of Valais, police said on Monday.

Published: 12 August 2013 21:48 CEST
Murder probed amidst deadly falls in Swiss Alps
The Notre Dame des Pontis chapel. Photo: Parroisanniviers.ch

Two men have been detained and a “murder is not ruled out,” said cantonal police who also reported five climbing deaths in the Valais mountains over the weekend.

Investigators were informed last Tuesday of a corpse at the base of a cliff below the Notre Dame des Pontis chapel in the Anniviers valley.

Police conducted a search of the area and discovered the remains of the man.

He was identified after DNA analysis as a resident of the Sierre region of Valais.

The cantonal prosecutor’s office has opened a murder investigation.

Police released no further information about the case or why the two men were detained.

Meanwhile, the victims of climbing deaths in the Valais Alps included a 57-year-old German man who fell 400 metres while climbing near the summit of Lagginhorn (4,010 metres) on Sunday afternoon.

The man was with a group of seven Alpinists who headed up the mountain from Saas-Grund, police said.

Two local men from Haut-Valais died after falling 800 metres while climbing the Ober Gabelhorn, a 4,063-metre peak.

Police said it is not clear whether the men, aged 51 and 30, fell on Saturday or Sunday.

They were roped up and climbing an approach to the mountain known as the Arbengrat when the accident occurred, police said.

Police identified victims from a climbing accident on Saturday near the highest peak in Switzerland as two Italians aged 57 and 44.

The victims, who were roped up, fell 100 metres for unknown reasons while close to the summit of the Dufourspitze (4,634 metres), part of the Monte Rosa massif near Zermatt.

Police said investigations are under way into all the climbing deaths. 

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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Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.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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