QR Code Payment Fraud : Do not Scan QR code
Digital payments are now part of our daily life, it has made it easy and convenient to pay or transfer money from one bank account to another. Digital payments consist of many ways to make payments, one of which is a QR code Payment. Let’s first understand what is the meaning of QR code payment.
QR code payment is a contactless payment method, where you don’t need to fill details of the receiver manually, you just need to scan the QR code from your mobile app and perform a transaction using any banking-enabled app. It is very convenient and widely accepted everywhere. But With the increase of convenience in making digital payments, the Risk of cybercrime has also risen. Due to the simplicity of QR code payments, it makes it easy for scammers to target victims. Now let’s dive into the complete story, of how scammers use the QR code payment features to scam people.Â
Receive money with a QR CODE ?
One of the most popular ways, which scammers use is to convenience victims to scan the QR code to receive some payments. Now the catch is, that QR code can only be used to make payments, not receive payments. But due to a lack of knowledge and awareness people fall into such trap. To understand it properly, Read this story…
Recent QR code scam Story
Akash, who was living in Gurgaon, got a job in Bengaluru. Because of this, he decided to sell his furniture on online selling portals (OLX). Akash listed the furniture on the website with some respective prices. Immediately after listing, he started getting calls from buyers. One buyer, whose name was Sharwan, offered him the highest price. This was a perfect offer for Akash, and without taking a second thought, he decided to sell his stuff to Sharwan.Â
From here scam began, sharwan said on call that he was not in Gurgaon presently would come after 2 days. But he wants to buy the furniture immediately and will send someone to take it from Akash. Akash asked for the advance so that he could be sure, that Sharwan was serious about buying it. That is what Sharwan wants, sharwan said, he is sending a QR code of amount 10,000 Rs and asked Akash to scan the QR code to receive 10,000 Rs.
How they Trick Akash
Sharwan added one more thing, to receive money Akash has to use the UPI pin. Akash was not aware of it, and he did the same. Rest you know, 10000 Rs got debited from Akash’s bank account. Once Sharwan got the amount, he disconnected the call and immediately blocked Akash from everywhere. Once Akash got blocked, he realized he had been scammed.Â
Akash lost 10,000 Rs in this scam, and he submitted the FIR of this incident to the cyber crime police station in Gurgaon. We have seen, that it’s very rare that people report such cases, usually people just ignore it even if they get scammed, which gives more space for scammers to scam more people. So it’s very important to report incidents to the police if you get scammed ever. First, this helps to come to the notice of new techniques that scammers are using to scam people also, helps to spread such information to everyone, so that people can stay safe from such scams.Â
The Golden Rule: Don’t Scan QR Codes to Receive Money
Always remember, that scanning a QR code is not used to receive money, Legitimate transactions involve scanning a QR code to make payments only. If someone asks you to scan a QR code to receive payments, be cautious, it will be a trick to take money from you.Â
Tips to Protect yourself from Such scams:-Â
1:- Stick to Trusted Platforms:
Always use well-known and trusted payment platforms and apps that are approved by the government and regulated by respective authorities because most platforms usually have strong security measures in place to safeguard their users from such cybercrime.
2:-Verify the Source:
Only scan QR codes for payments if you get if from any reliable sources. If you get a QR code through email, text, or any other form of communication for the payments, double-check the sender’s identity before scanning the QR code, otherwise, you may lose your hard-earned money.
3:- Keep Your Apps Updated:
It’s very important to understand, that app updates are important. Make sure your all payment apps are always up-to-date. Developers frequently keeps on releasing updates of app to fix security issues and improve the overall app security to give you Safe environment for its use. If you don’t update the app regularly,There are higher chances,That your app may not detect fraud payment requests.
4:- Monitor Your bank Accounts:
Sometimes you don’t even know that you have been scammed and money got debited from your bank account. So it is important to Regularly check your bank and payment app statements for any suspicious transactions. If you find something unusual in bank statements, report it to your bank or payment provider right away. The more you delay or ignore it, the higher your chances of losing more money.
5: Stay Informed:
One solution to all scams is “Stay informed about scams around you.” Just stay updated on the latest scams and cybercrime tactics going around you. Being aware of potential threats or these scams helps you recognize and avoid falling victim to QR code fraud or any other kind of fraud. You can install verify scams app to get real-time, updated information about scams.Â
Conclusion
We understand that QR code payments is the most easier way to make payment and convenient , but it’s important to be safe from QR code scams. Just make sure to stay safe from QR code payment scam with this golden rule: never scan a QR code to receive money. The more you stay conscious of it, the more you stay safe. Stay informed, use trusted platforms like Verifyscams.com. Don’t forget to share this information with your family and friends. Help them too to stay safe from QR code payment fraud.
