QR Code Scam Risks
Launch library · evergreen read
A QR code hides its actual destination entirely until it is scanned, which makes it a genuinely convenient vehicle for a malicious link disguised as something perfectly ordinary, a parking payment sticker, a restaurant menu, a delivery notice, placed somewhere a genuine one would normally and plausibly appear to an unsuspecting passer by walking past quickly.
Stickers placed directly over an existing genuine code are a common physical version of this exact trick, exploiting the simple fact that most people scan without ever checking whether the underlying code has been tampered with or quietly replaced by someone else beforehand without any permission at all.
Checking the resulting web address carefully after scanning, before entering any payment or personal details whatsoever, and preferring a known official app or website over an unfamiliar scanned link, meaningfully reduces this particular risk in almost every situation encountered, whatever the code happens to be attached to physically.