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CRIME

Residents in Switzerland urged to avoid new scams

Fraudulent schemes of all kinds have been circulating in Switzerland for a long time. These are the latest ones.

Residents in Switzerland urged to avoid new scams
Don't fall victim to scamming attempts. Photo by CardMapr.nl on Unsplash

Scammers are very imaginative — and increasingly more sophisticated as well — about tricking their victims into parting with their money.

These are the two latest ones spreading throughout Switzerland right now that should set off alarm bells in your head.

Suspicious SMS messages, allegedly from the Post Office

Scammers have been sending thousands of fraudulent messages to Swiss mobile phone numbers, posing as the Post Office.

They inform recipients that a package addressed to them is being held at the post office and can’t be delivered “due to unclear address information.”

A service fee of 27 cents will be charged for the new distribution, which can be paid online by credit card.

(A variation of this scam has also been sent to email addresses, allegedly from DHL delivery service).

This message should raise suspicion for two reasons, according to Tobias Lang, a spokesperson for the Post Office. 

One, because the provided link doesn’t end with ‘post.ch’, ‘poste.ch’, ‘posta.ch’, or ‘swisspost.ch’.

And two, the Swiss Post Office “never asks its customers to provide personal security information such as passwords or credit card data by email, SMS or telephone.”

Also, the amount of 27 cents is strange. It was set deliberately low, so that as many people as possible will pay it without becoming suspicious about it, Lang said.

Even if it only a small number of people are fooled into responding, this scam “already becomes profitable for the hackers. Because sending SMS costs almost nothing, the profit should be achieved relatively quickly,” according to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity. 

The radio and television fee scam

All households in Switzerland must  pay the annual television tax of 335 francs, so invoices for this fee may not immediately (or ever) raise any suspicions.

Except that these bills don’t come from the official collecting agency, Serafe, but rather from fraudsters.

However, even though at first glance these invoices appear to be legitimate, if you are vigilant you will see that they come not from Serafe, but from Searfe — a deliberate misspelling and a sure sign that you should disregard this bill and not pay it.

You can see the list of all current scams circulating in Switzerland here

What should you do (and not do) if you receive either of the above-mentioned scam attempts?

First and foremost, don’t reveal any personal information and, even less so, your credit card number or any other financial details.

This advice, which comes from the Swiss Crime Prevention service, applies to all scam attempts that try to extort money from you.

READ ALSO: How to avoid the most common online scams in Switzerland
 
 

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LAUSANNE

American tourist ‘violently attacked’ in Lausanne

A woman visiting from the United States was stabbed during a robbery attempt while sightseeing in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

American tourist 'violently attacked' in Lausanne

The attack occurred at the end of May, but the Swiss media reported it on Tuesday.

The victim, in her 50s, was “violently” attacked by a man with a knife while sightseeing in the Old Town, according to Lausanne’s newspaper 24 Heures. The attempted robbery was confirmed by local police.

The tourist was stabbed in the shoulder as the assailant tried to flee with her bag.

A local shopkeeper said she was “alerted by cries of distress in English” and witnessed the victim “lying on the ground and trying to defend herself against a man who was attacking her. The scene was extremely violent.”

Even though passersby attempted to intercept the attacker, he managed to escape.

He was, however, caught and arrested shortly thereafter. Police said the perpatrator was known for prior criminal acts.

This was the second case of a brutal attack in Switzerland  against a US tourist in a span of several months.

In February, an American woman was raped and beaten in Geneva. 

The suspect in that case lived in France and, according to the Geneva prosecutor’s office, was arrested “outside Switzerland.” 

Does this mean the two cities are unsafe for tourists?

Lausanne police said that no incidents “targeting tourists in particular” have been reported in the Vaud capital.

But reading about these attacks probably doesn’t fill you with confidence regarding your personal security in Switzerland.

Still, you should put these unfortunate incidents in perspective.

That’s because Switzerland consistently ranks among the least risky nations in the world, both in terms of personal safety and overall crime rate.

Not only is crime limited in scope, but other statistics also indicate that, in comparison with other countries, Switzerland is very safe.

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