Major cashless warning over new QR code scam

With people becoming accustomed to scanning QR codes, 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.

Video transcript

Aussies have been warned about a new scam that's conning people out of thousands of dollars.

With people becoming accustomed to scanning QR codes, many wouldn't question what they're pointing their phone at.

But Electronic Frontiers Australia chair John Payne told Yahoo Finance that scammers are slapping their own QR codes over legitimate ones.

He said they can steal personal information or conduct scams with the QR code, red you to a malicious site or infects your device with malware to extract the personal data.

One example recently went viral when a passerby discovered someone had placed a scam QR code on top of a real one on a parking metre.

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