You have probably noticed that Quick Response — QR — codes are everywhere these days, on the tables at restaurants, on posters, print and electronic advertising, and even during TV programming and commercials.
By training your smartphone camera on one, you’ll get a prompt to click to open a web page, typically one for the company behind the QR code. But now, even these are prone to misuse.
The FBI recently issued a warning, stating that criminals are using tampered codes to redirect customers to malicious sites and hack their financial and login information. They can send the code through e-mail as promotion codes.
They also may paste the tampered code on the original one, such as parking meters, flyers, or a restaurant table where the original code would bring up the menu.
These crimes can do serious damage to your finances and credit history. According to the FBI, criminals are using malicious QR codes in two ways: Think Twice Before Scanning That QR Code