{"id":130564,"date":"2021-10-20T06:03:56","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T13:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=130564"},"modified":"2025-05-22T22:09:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T05:09:01","slug":"be-on-the-lookout-for-a-new-wave-of-qr-code-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/mobile-security\/be-on-the-lookout-for-a-new-wave-of-qr-code-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Be on the Lookout for a New Wave of QR Code Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world of contact-free pickup and payments, an old hacker\u2019s trick is getting a new look\u2014phony QR code scams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

QR codes have been around for some time<\/span>.\u00a0Dating back to industrial use in the 1990s,\u00a0QR codes\u00a0pack high volumes of visual information in a relatively compact space. In that way,\u00a0a QR code shares many similarities with\u00a0a barcode, yet\u00a0a QR code can\u00a0hold more than 300 times the data\u00a0of a barcode.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the rise of the smartphone, QR codes have taken on more consumer applications. Especially in the latter days of the pandemic in the form of contact-free conveniences. Now, by pointing your smartphone\u2019s camera at a QR code, you can order food at a restaurant, pay for parking, download coupons from the shelf at your drugstore or several other convenient things. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet\u00a0as it is\u00a0in places\u00a0where people, devices, and money meet,\u00a0hackers\u00a0are\u00a0there\u00a0with a scam ready to go.\u00a0Enter the QR code scam. By pointing your smartphone\u2019s camera at a bogus QR code and giving it a scan, hackers can lead people to malicious websites and commit other attacks on their phones.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that there are several ways you can spot these scams, along with several other ways you can avoid them\u00a0altogether, all so you can get the best out of QR code convenience without the hassle.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

QR code scams: a new twist on an old trick<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In several ways, the\u00a0<\/span>QR code scam works much like any other phishing attack<\/span><\/a>. With a few added wrinkles, of course.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Classically, phishing attacks\u00a0use\u00a0doctored\u00a0links\u00a0that pose as a legitimate website\u00a0in the hopes you\u2019ll follow them to a hacker\u2019s malicious website. Once there, that site is\u00a0designed to trick you into providing\u00a0your personal information, credit card numbers, and so forth, perhaps in the context of a special offer or a phony account alert.\u00a0Likewise, it could send you to a site that simply infects your device with malware.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s much the same with a QR code, yet here\u2019s\u00a0are a couple of\u00a0big differences:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n