Scammers use every trick imaginable to find their prey. But you should use your common sense to avoid falling victim to these — and other — fraudulent schemes that have been circulating in Switzerland.
Before we get to some of the hundreds of scams that have been reported in Switzerland — the National Centre for Cybersecurity (NCSC), which regularly publishes statistics on this phenomenon in Switzerland, records no less than 542 scams each week — let’s look at what the general characteristics of a typical fraud are, so your inner alarm goes off when you receive one.
The first sign that should make you suspicious is that an unknown person contacts you (by email, social media, messaging service, phone, or carrier pigeon) with a ‘fantastic’ offer promising you great deals or great profits.
While some unsolicited calls are legitimate, many aren’t. If the offer sounds too good (or too ludicrous) to be true — like the famous one where you get a call from the Nigerian royal family offering you their riches — it probably is too good or too ludicrous, especially if it requires you to part with your money in order to reap benefits.
It’s true that it is not always easy to spot scammers, especially as many emails look like they come from official sources like the government or police (read more about this below), but neither would contact you by email and threaten you with terrible consequences if you don’t pay up.
If not sure about the legitimacy of ‘official’ email or message, always call the supposed sender to check.
These are some of the scams you should be aware of:
Employment scam
The scammers are currently contacting their victims via messaging services such as Whatsapp and Telegram, presenting themselves as job recruiters who seek people in Switzerland who can work from home.
So far it sounds legitimate, except that “candidates are lured by promises of extraordinary earnings that are disproportionately high relative to the nature of the tasks to be performed,” according to the NCSC.
Problems begin after recruitment, when candidates are directed to a platform where they must register to obtain assignments. “It is an imitation of a legitimate website,” explains the federal authority.
All salary and bonus payments must be settled via this fake platform and recruited workers must pay most of the fees themselves.
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Housing scam
Housing scams consist of posting an advert on various specialised websites.
It offers accommodation in a great location at a reasonable price. Beautiful photos show a high-end accommodation and lure the victim.
At the time of worsening housing shortage and high rents, this kind of offer sounds very enticing.
During the first contact with the alleged owner or official representative, this person explains that the accommodation is unoccupied and available immediately, but that it is impossible for them to be present due to a business trip.
However, this person requests by return email a copy of identity documents, income certificates, as well as other personal information.
Subsequently, this person asks for a payment via a money transfer company (in most cases, Western Union), assuring that upon receipt of funds, they will send the keys to the accommodation in question.
Of course, the keys will never be sent, because the property in question doesn’t exist. But it could also be a real property which is for sale or rent for a much higher price, and whose images have been stolen.
Don’t believe that this apartment is cheap and available. Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
Some of the scammers are so bold, they pretend to be government agencies:
Immigration scam
According to State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), more and more foreigners are receiving emails with the senders swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant who pretend to be a 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.”
The first clue that this email doesn’t come from the SEM, which is a Swiss government authority, 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.
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Customs scam
More and more private individuals and businesses are receiving “phishing” messages in which fraudsters request payment using the name of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS)
“The recipients supposedly need to transfer money in order to receive a package they have ordered. It can also happen that the fraudsters call beforehand and pretend to be customs agents,” FOCBS reports.
The current phishing e-mails often feature notification@ezv.admin.ch, zoll-paket-dienste@schweiz-zoll.ch or zollauskunft@ezv-admin.ch as the sender.
“In light of this, the FOCBS would like to stress that it never sends payment requests by email or text message, nor contacts citizens or companies by telephone beforehand. It is therefore recommended that calls or messages of this kind be ignored and the messages deleted.
Death threats
This is possibly the most frightening scam of all.
According to Tribune de Genève, which recently reported about this fraud, an email signed “Angel of death” or “Kill Angel” claims to carry out “all kinds of services related to organised crime”.
It then goes on to say that “a client contacted me with all your contact details and asked me to kill you.”
The author then says the recipient can pay them more money than the person who ordered the execution, so they abort their deadly mission.
The scammer is even ready to sell “all the information” about this mysterious sponsor who ordered the killing.
It is easy to see how such an email would be upsetting but, again, don’t give in to this threat out of fear — which is exactly what this scammer is hoping for.
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This is what you should know
These are just five of the scams you should be aware of (and ignore), but they are just the tip of the iceberg.
The website of Swiss Office of Crime Prevention (PSC) lists dozens of such schemes, which have been perpetrated, more or less successfully, in Switzerland.
And yes, even the PSC fell victim to phishing. A message on its website says: “The Swiss Crime Prevention email address, telephone number and identity are currently being used fraudulently. We are not the sender of these emails. You can ignore and delete the emails you receive.”
Should you report scamming attempts to authorities?
The NCSC asks you to do so, as they keep track of and statistics on, such activities.
However, you are not obligated to do so.
The important thing is that you immediately delete any suspicious emails and block the sender from contacting you again.
Also, be vigilant about divulging any of your personal information and financial data to unknown callers, or individuals showing up at your door.
