For every form of communication or messaging out there, you can be sure that scammers and hackers are trying to find a way to take advantage of you-from emails to texts to calls.
Earlier this year, we saw a QR code scam targeted at a major US energy company, for example, and security analysts are warning that these so-called quishing attacks are on the rise.
If we didn't already have enough to worry about, now we need to be on guard against quishing.
The good news is that the security practices you hopefully already have in place should serve you well here too.
By now we should all be familiar with QR codes: a grid of black-and-white squares that act as a sort of hieroglyph that can be translated by the camera on your phone or another device.
Most often, QR codes translate into website URLs, but they can also point to a plain text message, app listings, map addresses, and so on.
This is where the subterfuge can slip in-QR codes can point to fraudulent websites just as easily as genuine ones, and you don't necessarily know which it's going to be before you visit it.
Scanning a QR code will typically bring up a URL that you can then follow, but it's rarely clear at first glance just how safe that website address is.
This Cyber News was published on www.wired.com. Publication date: Sun, 03 Dec 2023 12:13:07 +0000