Cantonal police in French-speaking areas of Switzerland have seen a sharp rise in so-called “fake police officer” scams. This is what you should be aware of.
This particular money-extorting attempt is not new, but has been on the rise.
Based on figures compiled by the Vaud cantonal police from all of their French-speaking counterparts, more than 1,000 cases have been reported in the past five months in French-speaking Switzerland.
That’s a huge increase from nearly 800 cases reported during all of 2024.
As reported by public broadcaster RTS on June 19th, the amounts stolen by these scammers just between January and May 2025 are estimated at more than 3 million francs, versus 3.7 million francs for the entire 2024.
You may be wondering why this scheme is more common in the Suisse Romande?
While the police have not addressed that, some media has reported that the scammers are located in nearby France, so they target French-speaking areas.
How do these scammers operate?
Their attempts are not random; they primarily target older people.
“To find their victims, [they] search online directories for first names regularly associated with seniors,” according to the Vaud cantonal police’s website dedicated to this crime.
“They contact their victims by phone and deceive their vigilance by pretending to be police officers.”
Concretely, they inform the victim of thefts and robberies in the area, convincing them to hand over their money and valuables for “safekeeping.”
They then obtain the person’s address and show up at their doorstep.
Many elderly people who live in fear of being victims of crime end up being victims of scammers instead.
According to Geneva cantonal police, “officers will never, under any circumstances, come to your home to collect your bank cards, PIN codes, jewellery, or cash.”
Advertisement
‘Be cautious’
Geneva police, along with their counterparts in other French-speaking cantons, urge potential victims to exercise both common sense and caution.
“If you have any doubts about the identity of a person claiming to be a police officer, hang up immediately and call 117 [the national emergency police number] to find out if the call is indeed from the police. Never call back a suspicious number.”
By the same token, “in the event of a suspicious visit, do not open the door and call 117 to find out if the police have dispatched an officer.”
And in the event of fraud involving the transfer of money, banking information, or credit cards to fake police officers (or other types of scammers), “immediately block the card(s) with your bank and ontact the police at 117.”
Advertisement
Different scenarios
There also other similar types of scams in circulation.
They mostly involve fake family members who notify you, either by phone or email, that they were robbed while travelling abroad and urgently need you to send them money so they can return home (needless to say – DON’T do that).
And these are other kinds of fraudulent schemes that are common in Switzerland and that you should be very wary of:
