Scams involving criminals posing as police officers are on the rise in Switzerland. Since 2023, fraudsters have stolen nearly CHF10 million ($12.6 million) in French-speaking Switzerland alone, according to an investigation by Swiss public television, RTS. The scams rely on a well-organised network of intermediaries, known as “mules”, recruited via social media. The scale of the phenomenon is alarming. In 2023, police in French-speaking Switzerland estimated losses at CHF1.5 million. The figure rose to CHF3.5 million in 2024. From January to October 2025, losses had already exceeded CHF4.5 million. Behind these numbers is a structured criminal operation that exploits the trust of elderly people while recruiting young adults as couriers. A carefully rehearsed scenario One day in April 2025, two men rang the doorbell of Suzanne Mermoud, 81, who lives in Sion, canton Valais. Claiming to be police officers, they told her that thieves had been operating in the neighbourhood. For her own ...
