Fraud: Private individual, Switzerland 2023
Five similar cases were reported to the NCSC: an apparently mistakenly sent message led to weeks of exchanges with a likeable person, who eventually advised online investments in cryptocurrency.
- Incident · 07.2023 · Switzerland
- Evidence: confirmed by an authority
- Fraud
- Deception (social engineering)
As of
What happened
After an initial deposit of 250 US dollars and fake profits, the fraudsters pushed for higher stakes, in one case 80'000 US dollars. In total, they captured more than 220'000 US dollars.
- Affected
- Private individual (anonymous)
- Industry
- Private individual
- Loss
- more than 220'000 US dollars in total
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- unknown / unknown
- Data affected
- unknown
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- apparently misaddressed message via LinkedIn, Facebook or WhatsApp
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
-
Hotline and advice before anything happens
Mostly no information 14 of 29 private products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
Young platforms promising high returns are a warning sign; the registration date of the domain can be checked.
Sources
- Wochenrückblick Woche 27: Online-Anlagebetrug – es geht um richtig viel Geld (opens in a new window) Bundesamt für Cybersicherheit BACS (bis 2023: NCSC) · 11.07.2023
«Dies zeigen fünf ähnlich klingende Vorfälle, die dem NCSC gemeldet wurden, bei denen die Betrüger zusammengezählt über 220'000 USD erbeutet haben.»