To users, QR codes offer an advantage over having to type out a full URL in a browser address bar on their device. Or, you can use it in combination with security software that blocks malicious sites, because every QR code scanner I have seen automatically takes users to the link it reads from the QR code. If you are using a QR code scanner or thinking about installing one, consider using one that uses built-in filters.Don’t follow it if you don’t know where it originated from, or if you don’t fully trust the source. Alarm your bank and work with them to change your credentials as soon as you suspect foul play.Don’t be rushed or talked into paying in a way that you are not completely familiar with. Use QR code payments only in circumstances that you consider normal.If you are using QR codes to make a payment, pay close attention to the details shown to you before you confirm the payment.There are a few things users can do to keep safe from QR code scams: This could bring in a lot of (small) payments into the threat actor's account, and many potential bike renters would shrug it off when the bike fails to unlock and move on to the next one to try their luck. Also, criminals have been known to replace public and unguarded QR codes with their own so that payments would flow into their pockets.įor example, in China where bike-sharing is immensely popular and you pay in advance to unlock the bike, it can be profitable for criminals to replace the QR codes on a large number of bikes with some of their own. Other QR scamsīesides the fake banking environment scam, there have been reports of QR codes that were rigged to download malware onto the victim’s device. It is likely that they used money mules to convert those payments into cash they could then spend freely without raising suspicion. With those in hand, it's easy for the threat actors to make some payments on your behalf-into accounts under their control, obviously. By doing so, the victims provided the scammers with the login credentials to their banking environment. The scammers used social engineering to con victims into allowing them to scan the QR code on their own phone. How does this scam work?īasically, it does the same as when you would enter your login credentials on a banking phish site. To us, they all look the same-one payment instruction for five dollars looks just like any other. And that is exactly what this scam banks on. More or less like this:Įven if we can spot any differences, we are unable to see what they stand for, exactly. To most human eyes, they all look the same. QR codes are easy to generate and hard to tell apart from one another. In other cases, QR codes are used as part of a login procedure. Some apps, like banking apps, have QR code-reading software incorporated to make it easier for users to make online payments. Modern smartphones can easily read QR codes, as a camera and a small piece of software is all it takes. As a QR code takes up a lot less space than a legacy barcode, its usage soon spread. This type of code was designed to be read by robots that keep track of produced items in a factory. What is a QR code exactly?Ī QR (Quick Response) code is nothing more than a two-dimensional barcode. These were issued along with warning signs posted on the parking lots and flyers handed out that provided details about the scammers and a request to call the police if anyone saw them at work.īut in case criminals using this tactic are active in other European or US cities, we wanted to bring this particular scam into light. It may have helped that some of the potential victims had read the warnings by police on social media. And they were caught red-handed in the second city. They left the first city behind when the police started to hand out flyers about the parking scam. Meanwhile, two suspects have been apprehended after robbing dozens of people and amassing tens of thousands of Euros.Īs far as the police know, these scammers have been active in two cities so far. Through the rest of the month was the fiver in his wallet.Ī week ago, one of the Netherlands' local police departments issued a warning that this type of scam was making the rounds. Person, but since no good deed goes unpunished, he came home only to find thatĮvery penny he had in his bank account had vanished. Of course, John felt the need to help this If I give you five dollars in cash, can you pay the parking for me? All you need to do is scan this QR code with your banking app.” “Excuse me sir, can I ask you for a favor? I want to pay for parking my car in this spot, but there are no machines around that accept cash.
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