What to Know
- The latest trick by scammers to get victims’ money, and possibly even steal identities, is called "quishing." So how does it work, and how can you protect yourself?
- QR codes are convenient for parking meters and restaurants — but are also convenient for scammers. The BBB has reported more fake parking sites that are used to trick people into giving personal information, and are a double-edged sword for victims
- There are ways to avoid becoming a victim of a fraudulent website, like looking for signs of tampering on signs with QR codes and to always check the URL after scanning the code
You’ve probably heard of email phishing — what about quishing?
It’s the latest trick by scammers to get victims’ money, and possibly even steal identities. So how does it work, and how can you protect yourself?
“We went from phishing to smishing, which is text messages, to now quishing,” said Brian Rauer, the executive director and general counsel for the Better Business Bureau of Metro New York.
Rauer said the BBB has seen an increase in so-called “quishing” scams, which involve using QR codes.
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“It will lead to you to a phishing website which will extract your personal information, your financial information,” said Rauer, who added that it “also could download malware onto your device.”
QR codes are convenient for parking meters and restaurants — but are also convenient for scammers. The BBB has reported more fake parking sites that are used to trick people into giving personal information, and are a double-edged sword for victims.
“You A) Haven’t paid for the parking, so you could end up with a ticket or being towed. And B) It could lead to malware being downloaded onto the site there and possible future identity theft,” Rauer said.
There are other ways scammers are looking to go after victims via quishing, like through cryptocurrency ads and romance scams.
“They may offer you this incredible deal, you can double, triple your money with crypto. So one of the two things. Either way, they want to get you to bite,” Rauer warned. “They’ll give you that QR code, it will send you to that digital wallet and your money is gone. And by the way, so is the romance.”
There are ways to avoid becoming a victim of a fraudulent website. According to Rauer, there is one thing that the scams try to do to influence potential targets.
“With all these scams, there’s a sense of urgency created. This false sense of urgency. They don’t want you to check,” he said.
He also advised people look for signs of tampering on signs with QR codes and to make sure it actually belongs to the restaurant or business. And always check the URL after scanning the code.
“Anyone can stick something on the back of a dispenser in a restaurant or on the back of a door,” Rauer said. “Independently verify — is this the real business?”
The BBB said that QR code scanner apps can also help spot fake sites.
