QR codes are everywhere. Posters. Restaurant tables. Parking notices. Emails. Messages.
That convenience can make us lower our guard.
A QR code can take you to a fake website designed to steal your password, payment information or verification code. Criminals can even place a fake QR sticker over a genuine one.
This is known as quishing, or phishing through a QR code.
The important question is not:
“Can I scan this?”
It is:
“Where will this take me?”
Before you continue after scanning:
• Check the website address carefully.
• Look for strange spellings or unfamiliar domains.
• Do not enter passwords, PINs, card details or one time codes into an unexpected page.
• Never install an app simply because a QR code tells you to.
If a QR code claims to be from your bank, Telco, school, government agency or another organisation, open the organisation’s official app or type its known website yourself.
Think first. Click safe.
A QR code hides the destination until you scan it. That is exactly why you should pause before trusting it.