Insidious danger lurking behind common cashless solution: 'Avoid at all costs'

A big appeal of a cashless society is offering Australians convenience when they pay for things. It can be easier to use a card than fiddle with cash, but there's a feature growing in popularity that's sparking confusion and concern.

QR codes are everywhere now. From ordering at a restaurant or pub to paying for your parking; Australians are expected to hand out their personal information, and sometimes have no choice,

John Pane, Electronic Frontiers Australia chair, told Yahoo Finance consumers need to be more concerned about what those businesses do with their data.

"I avoid using QR codes at all costs, particularly in the restaurant or cafe environment," he said.

"Your data can be collected and used by unknown parties, not just the organisation which you're interacting with at the time. Is it being marketed? Is it being sold? Is it properly secured? All sorts of issues."

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Issue is widespread in hospitality industry

Plenty of hospitality venues have installed QR codes on their tables or menus in recent years.

While introverts happy not to interact with waitstaff celebrated the move, it has added another hoop to jump through.

These QR codes lead you to online menus where you have to input details like your name, address and email to order your food or drink.

Pane told Yahoo Finance you can check the privacy policy to see exactly how your data is being used but that can take a long time.

Not only that, but QR code menus can add on a hefty surcharge even though you're cutting out the need for a waiter in most instances, and then some even ask for a tip at the end of the process even though you haven't received your order.

Alera was fuming when she was hit with a $7.80 surcharge - 10 per cent of the bill - just because she ordered with the QR code at a Sydney restaurant.

“There was still another fee on top of that, a processing fee,” she told Yahoo Finance. “I thought it was a mistake and they’d look and give us a refund or a free drink, but the waiter said, ‘Oh no that’s our Eftpos fee’."

Many other Aussies aren't happy about it.

"Unless my meal is subsidised since there is no longer need for staff taking my meal then I'd like a human to take my order. That's part of the restaurant experience, is a fun waitress, not someone that simply dumps my plate in front of me once it's all cooked," wrote one person.

"QR codes never sat right with me. Just what and how much of your personal info from ur phone is accessed by them?" asked another.

"I see scammers put their own QR code sticker over them and then when you pay it hands them all your details," added a third.

'Criminal': Making things far more difficult

North Sydney Council recently overhauled all the old parking meters in the area and is in the process of replacing them with new cashless ones.

While the act was already controversial, some have found the process of paying for their parking far more difficult than if they had cash.

There are three ways to pay and the one causing the biggest issue is the PayStay app option. Users reportedly have to provide personal information their full name, email and phone number as well as their car rego, postcode and their credit card details.

Not only that, but using the app incurs a 8.25 per cent surcharge, which Sydney man Tony described as "criminal".

He said it took him around an hour to work out how to use the new system and was annoyed at how much information he had to give out.

"I clicked on the QR code...I thought, 'I'm not going to give this company. I don't know who they are, what they are'," he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

When contacted by Yahoo Australia, a council spokesperson said it "understands no single method would suit all" and hoped the new parking system would "provide the public with flexibility in how they would like to manage their parking".

However, it also "acknowledges the frustrations experienced by the community with the new parking meters and is actively working to resolve them".

Several councils in Australia have various types of QR code technology for parking meters, tickets and receipts.

But Pane questioned why you would need to hand over personal information to a council for parking.

"The fact that the parking meter would ask for all this additional information is outrageous," he said.

"This is another case of using tech in order to unnecessarily collect personal data and profit for it's use and potentially, sale.

"The best way to prevent a data breach is not to collect unnecessary personal data - and what we see here is exactly the opposite. A prime example of the surveillance economy in action and how the tech sector frequently confects solutions for problems that don't exist."

Risk of QR codes for scammers

Aussies have been warned to make sure that the code they are scanning is legitimate otherwise they could be giving out vital personal information to hackers and scammers.

Financial scams have been described as the "plague of our times", with $159 million lost already in 2024.

Criminals have been slapping QR code stickers onto public places like parking meters hoping unsuspecting people will scan them.

They can be taken to fake websites that look like the real deal but all the personal information you put in gets taken by by a scammer.

“[QR codes have] always been there, but they became hugely popular and everybody started [scanning them] without any second thoughts,” Damien Manuel, adjunct professor of cyber security at Deakin University, said.

"It's very easy to just scan a QR code and then click on the link that's generated in that code without really questioning [it]."

Scamwatch said there have been dozens of reports of this in Australia since 2020 and more than $100,000 has been lost so far.

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