Police issue warning about rise in ‘quishing’ frauds
North Wales Police have issued a warning about a growing scam known as ‘quishing’, in which criminals use fake QR codes to trick people into revealing financial details or downloading malware.
The force’s Cyber Crime Unit said fraudsters have been placing their own QR codes over legitimate ones in public places such as car parks. Victims believe they are paying for parking through an official website, but the fake link instead sends their payment to criminals.
A spokesperson for NWP Cyber Crime said the growing use of QR codes in everyday life, from menus to transport timetables, has made it easier for scammers to exploit the technology.
In a public post, the unit said: “Unfortunately, this normalisation of scanning QR codes is being taken advantage of, presenting a new cyber security threat called quishing (QR code phishing). Rather than linking to the legitimate website that you believe you’re navigating to, the fraudulent code will load a page that attempts to steal financial information or infect your device with malware.”
The post continued: “Criminals often stick their own fraudulent QR code over the original QR code in places like car parks. Members of the public scan the QR code believing that it will take them to the parking company’s website where they can pay for their parking, however the criminal’s QR code takes them to a fake website that looks very similar to the parking company’s website, allowing the criminal to steal the innocent victim’s card details and money.”
Police have issued several steps to help people avoid becoming victims of ‘quishing’ scams.
They advise checking whether a QR code has been tampered with before scanning it, avoiding random public QR codes, and using the default scanner that comes with your device rather than third party apps.
Users are also urged to verify any website address before entering personal information and to avoid making payments through QR codes unless they are certain the link is genuine.
The force added that fake websites often use near identical names to legitimate ones, and that small spelling differences can indicate a scam.
North Wales Police have encouraged residents to share the warning to help prevent further incidents.
Check live fuel prices near you before you set off.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email news (@) deeside.com
NEW: Add Deeside.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Latest News
