Scammers take CHF 1m in Basel alone

Pixabay

Telephone scammers are still highly active in Switzerland – targeting mainly the elderly.

Prosecutors in canton Basel-City are estimating more than a million francs have been stolen in their half-canton alone.

Many of the calls follow a similar pattern. The target is called and told that either a close family member has had an accident or they’ve been a victim of a potential fraudulent payment at their bank and they need to move their money. 

The calls are given added credibility as the phone number the call is coming from can show legitimate bank number of even the local police station – that’s known as number ‘spoofing’. 

Cantonal prosecutors say the bank or police will never ask people to withdraw money or hand over valuables – for so called ‘safe keeping’.

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play