QR code scams are on the rise

The FBI recently issued a warning about cyber criminals stealing money through phony QR codes.

J. Michael Skiba is an International Cyber Crime Expert. He says during the pandemic, many retail stores and restaurants started using QR codes. He says as a result, the scammers went to that platform.

Skiba says the scammers steal victim data. They will embed malware to gain access to the victim’s device. He says this is prevalent in parking lots and in restaurants. At restaurants, the culprits will replace the legitimate menu QR code for their own. Their code will take you to a fake website.

Skiba says you should double check for misspellings. He says don’t download an app from the QR code. He recommends using your phones app store.