The fake police officer scam works in two stages. First, they ring you up: someone claiming to be from the police or a bank tells you there’s a serious problem and that you need to hand over your money or jewellery urgently. We’ve already explained that part. What happens next is less well known.
After the phone call comes the courier. A 20-year-old who rings your doorbell, collects what you’ve prepared and disappears. That part of the chain also has a face, a name and a criminal record. Last week, eight people aged between 18 and 22 were arrested in French-speaking Switzerland. Most were resident in the Moutier region. Five held Swiss passports, two were from Cameroon and one was Polish. They were operating in the cantons of Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Vaud, and had swindled more than 100,000 francs from elderly people.
They weren’t the masterminds. The ringleaders were based abroad; they coordinated operations via social media and then converted the money into cryptocurrencies. The young people were left with a commission. The rest vanished. What hasn’t vanished, however, are the criminal charges: three of the eight are in pre-trial detention.
This week, the Fribourg police also issued a specific warning: these networks recruit young people with promises of easy money. A message on Instagram, a sum that seems easy to earn, and suddenly you find yourself involved in a criminal operation without even realising it. It happens in Switzerland too. And the penalties can be very severe.