QR Code Scams: A New Twist on an Old Trick
Launch library · evergreen read
QR codes have become a genuinely normal part of paying for parking, viewing a restaurant menu or joining a cafe's Wi-Fi network, which is exactly why they now increasingly appear in scams too. A sticker placed carefully over a genuine code, or one simply printed onto a fake parking notice, can quietly redirect an innocent scan to a fraudulent payment page instead.
Because a QR code hides its actual destination until the exact moment it is scanned, it is genuinely harder to spot in advance than an obviously suspicious link sitting inside an email. The page it opens is often carefully designed to closely resemble a real, legitimate payment site, asking for full card details under the reasonable guise of a normal, everyday transaction.
Before scanning anything, check whether a code looks like it has been stuck deliberately over another one underneath, and after scanning, look closely at the actual web address that opens rather than simply assuming it matches the business you originally expected to be paying that day.
For parking and similar everyday payments, using the official app or website directly, rather than relying on a QR code found somewhere out in a public space, avoids this particular risk entirely while still achieving exactly the same practical result for you, without the added guesswork.