Malicious QR scanning apps designed to scrape user information have made it into the app stores in the past. His company, Trend Micro, offers a free one, as do some of the other big antivirus companies.īut stick to the well-known security companies, he says. If the URL looks strange, you might want to move on.īetter yet, Ansari recommends using a secure scanner app, which is designed to spot malicious links before your phone opens them. , will give you a preview of a code's URL as you start to scan it. Preview the code's URL. Many smartphone cameras, including The same goes for codes you receive in unsolicited paper junk mail, such as those offering help with debt consolidation, Grant says. Does it look like you expected it would? If it asks for login or banking information that doesn't seem needed, don't hand it over.Ĭodes embedded in emails are almost always a bad idea. Take Haas' advice and skip these entirely. When you do scan a QR code, take a good look at the website it led you to, Haas recommends. Is it a sticker or part of a bigger sign or display? If the code doesn't look like it fits in with the background, ask for a paper copy of the document you're trying to access or type the URL in manually. Think before you scan. Be especially wary of codes posted in public places. "There are so many ways for you to be compromised these days," Ansari said, "but it only takes one." Tips from the experts What it boils down to is that QR codes are just one more way for cybercriminals to get what they want and yet another threat people need to be on the lookout for. Cofense recently spotted a phishing scam targeting German speakers that included a QR code in an attempt to lure mobile banking users. ![]() Still, the phony codes show up in phishing emails, though not as often as tried-and-true tactics, like attachments containing viruses or links to scam websites. Why would a legitimate sender want them to connect with a second device? For that reason, consumers should regard any email containing a QR code with suspicion, he says. After all, the recipient is already online with their laptop. "There's really no reason for someone to pull out their phone and scan a QR code that's in an email they're already looking at on their laptop," Haas said. Haas says scam QR codes are also starting to show up in phishing emails and online ads, a tactic that leaves him scratching his head. It gets people online that weren't already. That's why it makes sense to use them in scam stickers, as well as paper junk mail, said Brad Haas, cyber threat intelligence analyst for Cofense, an email security company. QR codes take people from the physical world to the online one. Officials in San Antonio, Texas, about 80 miles away, issued a warning after spotting similar stickers connected to a fake parking payment website. The department encourages anyone who thinks they may have had their credit card information stolen by the fake website to contact them.Īustin isn't the only city to experience bogus QR code scams. Police don't know how many people were duped. Most recently, the FBI issued a warning advising consumers to think before they scan potentially sketchy QR codes. Experts say they still represent a small percentage of overall phishing, but numerous scams involving QR code have been reported to the Better Business Bureau, especially in the past year. ![]() Like any other phishing scheme, it's impossible to know exactly how often QR codes are used for malicious purposes. But it will take you to scammy websites designed to get bank account, credit card or other personal information. Scanning the bogus QR codes won't do anything to your phone, such as download malware in the background. ![]() Now they're being exploited by cybercriminals in a spin on an email phishing scam. Websites and apps have cropped up that let you make your own. They were first used by the automotive industry to manage production but have spread everywhere. QR codes - the abbreviation stands for "quick response" - were invented in Japan in the 1990s. "It's easier to manipulate people if they don't understand it." That's especially true with tech like QR codes, which people know how to use but might not know how they work, she says. "Anytime new technology comes out, cybercriminals try to find a way to exploit it," said Angel Grant, vice president of security at F5, an app security company.
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