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CRIME

DNA links two Swiss killings exactly five years apart

Traces of DNA found at the scene of a double murder in the canton of Bern on December 15th 2015 match those found in the office of a Zurich psychiatrist killed in 2010 – also on December 15th.

Published: 10 March 2017 09:59 CET
DNA links two Swiss killings exactly five years apart
File photo: Bas Leenders
“This is probably the DNA of the perpetrator of the crimes,” Zurich’s public prosecutor said when finally releasing the information in a statement on Thursday.
 
The DNA match has been kept under wraps until now to avoid jeopardizing the two investigations, said the statement.
 
However it is now being made public in the hope that someone may come forward with new information.
 
DNA belonging to an unknown male was found at the scene of the killing of a 56-year-old psychiatrist in her practice in the Seefeld area of Zurich on December 15th 2010.
 
In 2011 around 300 men were DNA tested by Zurich cantonal police, the first such event of its kind in Switzerland, but no match was found. 
 
Exactly five years after the Seefeld homicide, a 64-year-old woman and her 74-year-old husband were killed in their home in Laupen, in the canton of Bern. They were found on December 18th, but the crime was shown to have taken place three days earlier, on the 15th.
 
Police analysis of DNA trace material at the scene uncovered the match with the Seefeld murderer.
 
“The identical DNA is, for the time being, the only concrete link between the two killings,” said the public prosecutor. The statement did not address the identical date.
 
Investigators are hoping that releasing news of the link will prompt members of the public to come forward with potentially new information. 
 
Both cases posted rewards for information leading to the apprehension of the killer – 20,000 francs in the Laupen case and 10,000 for the Seefeld murder – therefore both could be paid out if the unknown killer is caught.
 
Anyone with information is asked to call Zurich police on 044 247 22 11 or Bern police on 031 634 41 11. 

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Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.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