05.12.2023 - Over the past few days, the NCSC has received reports about websites selling motorway tax stickers for more than CHF 40. What at first sight appears to be a fake website is actually using a technique that is already familiar to the NCSC from other contexts. Companies focus mainly on electronic services that can be directly obtained from the relevant government sites. These are then sold on for a fee.
The motorway tax e-sticker comes with a service fee
Since August of this year, the Swiss motorway tax sticker, or "vignette", has also been available as an e-version. The Via portal of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) provides a quick and easy way to buy the electronic version of the motorway tax sticker simply by entering the vehicle category, the country of registration and the number plate.
Commercial providers did not take long to come up with their own offers. For an additional service fee, people can also buy e-vignettes from various other websites. The details to be entered on these websites are exactly the same as those for the official FOCBS website. The company's service consists of entering the data on the correct website. The companies justify this fee with services such as the ability to manage vignettes across borders and additional ways to pay.
The main problem is the risk of confusion for people who are not looking for additional services, but merely wish to buy the vignette for CHF 40 from the Swiss authorities. A search for the motorway vignette shows sponsored websites at the top whose offerings involve service fees. The official FOCBS sales page only appears further down the list. Another problem is that the buyers are completely at the mercy of the commercial provider. They have to trust that the provider will enter the details correctly and on time. If not, the buyers may end up travelling on the Swiss motorways without a valid vignette.
Commercial help with a visa application
This business model is mainly associated with visa applications. For some time now, the NCSC has regularly been receiving reports about commercial providers that promise to acquire visas for the desired country, despite the fact that an official and electronic procedure for obtaining a visa is available from the official website of the country concerned. Here too, the companies advertise that they can simplify the official process in addition to offering various other services. Difficulties can arise if it is not clear whether the company is a commercial or public provider. As travellers are unfamiliar with local processes, misunderstandings can quickly occur. Moreover, some of the flat fees for services provided are excessive and there is no guarantee that the visa process will ultimately be successful.
Criminal records extract – or just a set of instructions?
The thing all these providers have in common is that their websites list both the costs and the services they offer. Some people might find the costs for the "service" excessive, but at least they know what they are in advance. As a result, these offers are targeted at people who are unfamiliar with local processes and do not know the official prices for the service offered by a country.
However, there are more subtle techniques, as evidenced by the cases regularly reported to the NCSC concerning requests for criminal records extracts. This service is also provided directly and electronically by the state, and costs CHF 17. These criminal records extracts can also be ordered from numerous commercial websites. Here too, the list of search results shows the sponsored links before the result for the official Confederation website.
However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the offer is not for an extract request, but instead only for the instructions on how to order an extract. The costs, amounting to CHF 20, are higher than the fees for placing an actual order on the official website.
Measures:
- The NCSC recommends using the official federal websites to request federal services, rather than via commercial providers.
- There is also a need for caution with search results. Advertising links are often displayed before the actual search results. They are labelled as "sponsored".
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Last modification 05.12.2023
