Fraud victimisation nearly doubles in Switzerland

15.9% of people surveyed said they had suffered fraud in the previous 12 months, almost twice the 8.4% recorded in 2022. The figure makes fraud the fastest-growing crime category in the latest Crime Survey, published on October 15, 2026, by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the University of St Gallen.

The study draws on responses from 13,500 residents aged 16 to 80 across Switzerland. It captures offences that reach the police and incidents that remain outside official records, giving researchers a wider view of victimisation than police statistics alone.

The increase is closely tied to digital life. About three-quarters of the fraud offences reported by respondents took place online, including through social media. The survey does not identify a single dominant scam or provide a cantonal ranking, but its findings show how quickly criminal exposure has moved into phones, platforms and online transactions.

Property crime also increased. Theft of personal belongings affected 4.3% of respondents in 2025, up from 3% in 2022. Theft from cars more than doubled from 1.2% to 2.7%. The findings place everyday financial and property losses at the centre of Switzerland’s changing crime picture.

Reporting rates remained largely unchanged, strengthening the researchers’ conclusion that the rise reflects more victimisation rather than a sudden increase in people contacting the police. Dirk Baier, co-leader of the project and a professor at ZHAW, said the increase in recorded crime was “not primarily attributable to a greater willingness to report offences”.

That distinction matters in Switzerland, where official police data can show only the offences that victims report. Survey respondents described incidents that may never enter a police database, including online fraud that victims might consider too small, embarrassing or difficult to pursue.

Fraud was not the only category to rise. Sexual harassment increased from 4.3% in 2022 to 6.2% in 2025, while sexual violence showed no increase in victimisation. The researchers also found no rise in the overall rate of sexual offences examined in the survey.

The results point to a broad change in exposure to crime, although the scale differs by offence. Police statistics and survey responses moved in the same direction for much of the period. The study therefore adds evidence to the national debate over how much crime is visible in official figures and how much remains unreported.

Only 83.1% of respondents said they felt fairly or very safe in their neighbourhood after dark in 2025, down from 87.6% three years earlier. Fear of becoming a victim of street crime also increased over the same period.

The perception of police visibility shifted with it. The share saying that police presence in public spaces was insufficient climbed from 28.9% to 37.9%. Trust in the police nevertheless remained high, according to the researchers, suggesting that confidence in the institution has held up even as demands for a more visible presence have grown.

The survey records a national trend rather than a detailed map of risk. Its published findings do not establish that every town, city or canton experienced the same change. Nor do they show that fear is driven only by direct victimisation. News coverage, online warnings and personal experience can all shape how residents assess their surroundings.

Nora Markwalder, the project’s co-director and a professor at the University of St Gallen, said the decline should be taken seriously without exaggeration. Respondents still largely described Switzerland as a safe country, even as their confidence after dark weakened.