Identity theft Love scammers pose as SP Co-President Wermuth - with success

SP Co-President and Aargau National Councillor Cédric Wermuth has been the victim of identity theft. Photos of Wermuth were misused for a romance scam on the Internet. The politician has filed a criminal complaint.

Max Gräni, head of the criminal investigation department of the Aargau cantonal police, confirmed a corresponding online report from the news portals of CH Media newspapers on Monday. The complaint will now be forwarded to the public prosecutor's office.

Wermuth came across the identity theft because the manager of a bank branch called to say that a customer wanted to transfer 100,000 francs to him, as CH Media reported. The woman was completely surprised. Wermuth had been used as a decoy by fraudsters.

The SP politician is quoted in the media report as saying that he found five pages with his details on Facebook alone. He was shocked when he realized that his identity had been misused for online romance scams.

Identity fraud has been a criminal offense in Switzerland since September 2023. It involves the use of another person's identity without their consent in order to harm them or to gain an unlawful advantage for oneself or a third party. The Criminal Code provides for a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine.

SDA