SCAMMERS are using QR codes as their latest trick to rip people off, experts have warned. The codes have become more common since the pandemic, being used by pub-goers to order a pint to their table and checking-in to restaurants for contact tracing. But conmen have seen it as an opportunity to swindle people out […]
SCAMMERS are using QR codes as their latest trick to rip people off, experts have warned.
The codes have become more common since the pandemic, being used by pub-goers to order a pint to their table and checking-in to restaurants for contact tracing.
But conmen have seen it as an opportunity to swindle people out of their hard-earned cash.
Their latest ploy comes in the form of a phishing email containing a QR code.
Scanning it won’t infect your phone with malware.
Instead it’ll send you to dodgy websites designed to get your bank account details and personal info out of you.
According to CNET, it’s a problem that’s on the rise.
People are being caught out because they don’t see the scammy links that a QR code can direct them to.
It also makes it harder for security experts to pick up on them.
“Anytime new technology comes out, cybercriminals try to find a way to exploit it,” said Angel Grant, a cyber security expert from F5.
“It’s easier to manipulate people if they don’t understand it.”
The public have been warned to be wary of scanning QR codes due to the threat.
Think about whether it looks like an official poster if you see one in public, or something that might be iffy.
And if it asks you to hand over bank account details, don’t do it or leave the page immediately.
Experts also say it’s a bit weird to receive a QR code via email, so that should be another alarm bell.
In other news, personalised smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to U.S. consumers this year.
Tech giant Microsoft is trying to make the world more woke by rolling out an “inclusiveness” checker in its Word software.
And a federal anti-trust case against Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has been given the go-ahead.
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