Last week, with a post on its official blog the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned users against scanning any old QR code. Of course, the warning was issued for matters of security and privacy. Any scammer can in fact insert QR codes in inconspicuous places or send them via SMS o e-mail. The unfortunate people who scan them can be unaware victims of scams that they entail money theft o di personal data and others sensitive information. Il New York Times reported that the cybersecurity firm Trellix he found beyond “60,000 QR code attack samples” in the third quarter of this year alone. Additionally, early last year, police in several Texas cities said they had found fraudulent QR codes placed on parking meters that directed people to a fake payment site.
Malicious QR codes: what to do to avoid scams
To avoid falling victim to these types of QR code scams, the FTC suggests ignore unexpected emails or other messages that are suspicious and come with some sort of urgent request. It’s also useful check the URL displayed on the screen during the scan to make sure it is a site you can trust. On the other hand, even a legitimate QR code can show a short URL (an abbreviated address) that does not show the real name of the page. If you know the site you want to visit, that’s always better type it in full and manually. The Commission also recommends: update your devices and be sure to use password valide e complexas well as themulti-factor authentication for sensitive accounts.
In addition to the FTC’s recommendations, there are other things you can do to always be safe. First Don’t download QR code scanning apps. The camera appintegrated into Android and iOS devices, already do it and the app now sometimes they can be created for malicious purposes. The FTC’s suggestions apply to users around the world, as i QR Code letters they can be found anywhere. It is therefore always good to keep your eyes open and avoid scanning any QR code, especially when you don’t know its origin.