Major cashless warning over new scam conning Aussies out of thousands of dollars

Aussies have been warned about scanning QR codes in public places as a new scam method takes over. Scams come in many shapes and sizes and 'quishing' has emerged in Australia as more venues and services adopt QR codes to allow people to pay.

Because we have become accustomed to scanning codes to check in to venues, pay for parking, order a meal at the pub and a whole host of other acts, many wouldn't question what they're pointing their phone at. But Electronic Frontiers Australia chair John Pane told Yahoo Finance that scammers are slapping their own QR codes over legitimate ones.

"QR codes allow bad actors to leverage and infect devices with malware," he explained.

"They can steal personal information or conduct [quishing] scams... where the QR code redirects you to a malicious site or infects your device with malware to extract the personal data."

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'Got signed up to a gym': How QR codes can trick you

A video has gone viral on social media showing a parking meter in the UK that looks perfectly normal.

The parking sign shows a QR code that presumably allows you to pay for your car to be in the spot for as long as you need.

But an eagle-eyed passerby discovered someone had placed a QR code sticker over the top of the legitimate one.

It's clear many have been conned by this rising trend.

"I was caught out by one of these... after paying the parking charge, the fraudsters took regular payments from my account using my card details. Several small amounts that went unnoticed," wrote one person.

Another added: "Great technology makes it so easy for the scammer to catch people out. Don't trust this kind of payment system for parking."

"I got scammed by this, signed up for a gym instead of paying for parking!!" a third said.

Scammers will usually set up websites that look virtually identical to the legitimate parking site and they can easily harvest your data when you put in things like personal and financial information.

"There's the risk of collecting metadata associated with you, such as the type of device you're using to scan the code, your IP address, location information you enter while on the site," Pane told Yahoo Finance.

"It could also potentially expose financial data, such as any credit card numbers or debit card numbers you might use to purchase crypto services on the underlying website."

Quishing hits Australia, the UK and US

Consumer group CHOICE believes quishing could become one of the biggest scams in 2024 and it's been seen across the UK and US.

Australia's Scamwatch revealed that $100,000 has already been lost on our shores since 2020. There were 56 reports of phishing scams mentioning QR codes last year but thankfully no financial losses.

Scammers have targeted major trusted entities because they know how many people use them.

Services Australia said it had seen scam emails urging myGov users to update their information via a QR code, but the code takes them to a fake myGov site designed to steal personal details.

The Australian Taxation Office also reported it had seen phishing emails containing QR codes that lead people to malicious sites.

Neither myGov or the tax office will ever send emails or text messages with a QR code so if you see that then avoid it at all costs.

Cashless parking meters cause uproar in Australia

A Sydney council recently attracted the ire of many across the region after ripping out all the parking meters and replacing them with cashless ones.

There are three ways to pay for parking in North Sydney Council and the one that was causing the biggest issue was the PayStay app option.

Users reportedly had to provide personal information including their full name, email and phone number as well as their car rego, postcode and credit card details.

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 told Yahoo Finance.

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

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