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A QR code can send you to a fake payment page, imitation sign-in screen, or malicious download. Before you follow one, check where it leads and whether you expected it. For payments and account alerts, use the organization’s official app or a website you navigate to yourself.
QR codes are a way to carry information, often a web address. A scan does not prove that the destination is legitimate: scammers can replace a real code with a sticker, send a code in an unexpected message, or include one in an unsolicited package.
How QR code scams reach people
Stickers on parking meters and public signs
A code on a familiar meter or sign can still be fraudulent. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that scammers may cover a legitimate parking-meter QR code with their own sticker. The replacement can lead to a fake payment page that asks for money or personal details.
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A message may pose as a delivery notice, bank alert, toll charge, or traffic violation and urge you to act quickly. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service advises against scanning unexpected codes in messages, particularly when the sender creates urgency. In an April 2026 alert, the FTC described traffic-violation texts using QR codes to seek personal details, install malware, or steal money.
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Unsolicited packages
An unexpected parcel can contain a QR code meant to entice you to scan it. The FBI warned on July 31, 2025, about a variation of a brushing scam in which a package code may solicit personal or financial information or prompt a malicious download.
Payment redirection and malicious sites
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has described QR-code tampering that can direct people to malicious sites, steal data, introduce malware, or redirect a payment. That alert dates to January 2022; it documents possible methods, not how common the scams are today.
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- 【Digital and Printed 1D 2D QR Bar Code Symbologies】1D: Codabar, Code 11, Code93, MSI, Code 128, UCC/EAN-128, Code 39, EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A, ISBN, Industrial 25, Interleaved 25, Standard25, Matrix 2D: QR, DataMatrix, Aztec, Hanxin, Micro PDF417. (Note: Not compatible with Square.)
How to check a QR code before you act
- Ask whether you expected it. Consider who placed or sent the code and why. Treat an unsolicited code—especially one in a message or unexpected package—with caution.
- Preview the destination. If your camera or QR reader displays a URL, inspect the domain before opening it. Watch for misspellings or swapped letters that make an address look like the real organization’s site.
- Verify payments and account requests independently. Instead of following a code in a payment prompt, login request, or account warning, open the organization’s official app or type a website address you already trust. You can also contact the organization using details from a trusted source, not a suspicious message or page.
- Check public codes for tampering. If a sticker looks added, damaged, or out of place, do not use it. Ask the venue or operator how to pay through a verified method.
Keeping your phone and apps updated and using strong, unique passwords and multifactor authentication can support your broader security. These measures do not verify that a particular QR code leads to a legitimate destination.
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If you opened a page but did not interact with it
Close the page if it looks suspicious. Do not enter information, download files, or grant permissions. The reviewed consumer guidance does not establish that every scan alone compromises a device; what matters is what the page asked you to do and whether you followed through.
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- 【Battery Level Indicator and 2200mAh Capacity】Larger battery enables longer continuous usage and twice the stand-by time of others. With the unique battery indicator light showing the remaining battery level, no more Low Battery Anxiety.
- 【Ergonomic Design】 The curved handle is extended and thickened, tailor-made for North America customers. Specially designed smooth and flat trigger for better grip. 【Package Includes】Barcode Scanner x1, USB Cable x1, Dongle x1, User Manual x1
- 【Anti-Shock Silicone】 The orange anti-shock silicone protective cover can avoid scratches and friction while falling from the height of 6.56 feet. IP54 technology protects the wireless barcode scanner from dust.
- 【2.4 GHz Wireless + USB 2.0 Wired Connection】 Plug and play with the USB receiver or the USB cable, no driver installation needed. Easy and quick to set up. Wireless transmission distance reaches up to 328 ft. in barrier free environment.
- 【Digital and Printed 1D 2D QR Bar Code Symbologies】1D: Codabar, Code 11, Code93, MSI, Code 128, UCC/EAN-128, Code 39, EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A, ISBN, Industrial 25, Interleaved 25, Standard25, Matrix 2D: QR, DataMatrix, PDF417, Aztec, Hanxin, Micro PDF417. (Note: Not compatible with Square.)
If you entered a password or personal information
- Change an exposed password promptly. If you reused it on other accounts, change it there too.
- Contact any impersonated bank, agency, or company using its official app, known website, or other verified contact details—not the suspicious page.
- Watch for follow-up messages or requests that use the information you shared.
If you provided payment details or sent money
Review your bank and credit-card activity for transactions you do not recognize, and contact the relevant financial institution through a trusted channel. Do not use contact details supplied by the suspicious site.
Report the incident
In the United States, you can report fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For suspicious QR codes connected to an unsolicited package, FBI guidance directs people to report the activity to IC3.
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- 【1D 2D QR code Programmable】2D: QR code, Data Matrix, PDF417(including PDF417 on driver’s license), Aztec, Maxicode, Micro QR, Micro PDF417; 1D: UPC/EAN, Code 128/EAN128, GS1-128, ISBT-128, Standard 2 of 5, Matrix 2 of 5, Code 39, Code 32, Code 93, Code 11, Codabar, PLESSEY, MSI, GSI Databar, ITF-14, GS1.
What the available loss figures do—and do not—show
The FTC reported $470 million in losses to scams that started with text messages in 2024, in a figure published in April 2025. That total covers text-message scams overall; it is not a QR-code-specific loss estimate. The federal sources cited here do not establish a QR-code-specific prevalence or loss statistic.
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