{"id":57048,"date":"2024-09-04T14:41:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T14:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packetstormsecurity.com\/news\/view\/36291\/Stop-Scanning-Random-QR-Codes.html"},"modified":"2024-09-04T14:41:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T14:41:08","slug":"stop-scanning-random-qr-codes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably been there. You walk up to a parking meter and just want to pay for it and move on with your day. But unlike the old-school method of just dropping some quarters into the machine<\/a>, there are a dozen slightly different ways to pay so you can finally go on with your day. One of the methods is to scan the QR code, which will take you to a website where you can make it happen. But you may want to look closely at that pixelated little graphic the next time you\u2019re going through this obnoxious dance.<\/p>\n

Police in Southern California are warning residents about QR codes that are being attached to parking meters and directing unsuspecting people to a website that has nothing to do with actually paying the local governments. The official companies that handle payments in the area are known by names like ParkMobile and PayByPhone, but the QR codes direct people to impersonation websites that are often just one letter off.<\/p>\n

For example, rather than being sent to PayByPhone, drivers trying to pay using the fake QR codes are directed to \u201cpoybyphone.\u201d The scammers get away with it using little more than a sticker on the parking terminal that makes the QR code look like it has a similar style as the official information.<\/p>\n

\"Fake
\u00a9 Redondo Beach Police<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The city of Redondo Beach, just south of Los Angeles, reportedly has at least 150 of these fake QR codes, according to local police, with a high concentration in the areas of Esplanade and Riviera Village, according to a press release from Redondo Beach police.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe punched in the URL. The URL \u2013 the first five on the Google search were fakes,\u201d one man told ABC7 in Los Angeles. <\/a> \u201cIt was a scam. It has the logo. It says \u2018passport parking.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Curiously, despite reports that the city of San Clemente in Orange County, south of Redondo Beach, had experienced the same QR scams, a notice posted to the city\u2019s website said officials couldn\u2019t find any scams.<\/p>\n

\u201cA recent news story noted a potential QR code scam related to paid parking in San Clemente. Please note, this has been investigated, and no fraudulent QR codes were found,\u201d the city said<\/a>. \u201cWhile City staff will continue to be diligent, the public is encouraged to be suspicious of QR codes that seem damaged or tampered with, or stickers pasted over the original code.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can you do to protect yourself? Obviously, the safest option is to just pay cash if you can. But always take a close look at any URLs that you may land on or arrive at while trying to pay for parking. Avoid scanning random QR codes entirely, if you can help it. The use of QR codes wasn\u2019t a particularly common thing in everyday life within the U.S. until the covid-19 pandemic really started to push many restaurants to adopt the codes in lieu of physical menus.<\/p>\n

But QR codes really can make things easier and more convenient when you\u2019re trying to find a website. The trade-off? You have to be really diligent to make sure you\u2019re visiting the site you want to visit and aren\u2019t being served malware or just handing your money to scammers.<\/p>\n

READ MORE HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

READ MORE HERE…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[2317],"class_list":["post-57048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-packet-storm","tag-headlinemalwarefraud"],"yoast_head":"\nStop Scanning Random QR Codes 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-04T14:41:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fake-qr-code.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"TH Author\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@threatshub\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@threatshub\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"TH Author\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"TH Author\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476\"},\"headline\":\"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-04T14:41:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":556,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"headline,malware,fraud\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Packet Storm\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-04T14:41:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1034},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"headline,malware,fraud\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/tag\\\/headlinemalwarefraud\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News\",\"description\":\"%%focuskw%% Threat Intel \u2013 Threat Intel Services \u2013 CyberIntelligence \u2013 Cyber Threat Intelligence - Threat Intelligence Feeds - Threat Intelligence Reports - CyberSecurity Report \u2013 Cyber Security PDF \u2013 Cybersecurity Trends - Cloud Sandbox \u2013- Threat IntelligencePortal \u2013 Incident Response \u2013 Threat Hunting \u2013 IOC - Yara - Security Operations Center \u2013 SecurityOperation Center \u2013 Security SOC \u2013 SOC Services - Advanced Threat - Threat Detection - TargetedAttack \u2013 APT \u2013 Anti-APT \u2013 Advanced Protection \u2013 Cyber Security Services \u2013 Cybersecurity Services -Threat Intelligence Platform\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Threatshub.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ThreatsHub.org\",\"alternateName\":\"Threatshub.org\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg\",\"width\":432,\"height\":435,\"caption\":\"ThreatsHub.org\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/threatshub\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.threatshub.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476\",\"name\":\"TH Author\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"TH Author\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","description":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","og_description":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/","og_site_name":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","article_published_time":"2024-09-04T14:41:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fake-qr-code.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"TH Author","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@threatshub","twitter_site":"@threatshub","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"TH Author","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/"},"author":{"name":"TH Author","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476"},"headline":"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes","datePublished":"2024-09-04T14:41:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/"},"wordCount":556,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2024\/09\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg","keywords":["headline,malware,fraud"],"articleSection":["Packet Storm"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/","name":"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2024\/09\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-04T14:41:08+00:00","description":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security & Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2024\/09\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2024\/09\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes.jpg","width":1500,"height":1034},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/stop-scanning-random-qr-codes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"headline,malware,fraud","item":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/tag\/headlinemalwarefraud\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Stop Scanning Random QR Codes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/","name":"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News","description":"%%focuskw%% Threat Intel \u2013 Threat Intel Services \u2013 CyberIntelligence \u2013 Cyber Threat Intelligence - Threat Intelligence Feeds - Threat Intelligence Reports - CyberSecurity Report \u2013 Cyber Security PDF \u2013 Cybersecurity Trends - Cloud Sandbox \u2013- Threat IntelligencePortal \u2013 Incident Response \u2013 Threat Hunting \u2013 IOC - Yara - Security Operations Center \u2013 SecurityOperation Center \u2013 Security SOC \u2013 SOC Services - Advanced Threat - Threat Detection - TargetedAttack \u2013 APT \u2013 Anti-APT \u2013 Advanced Protection \u2013 Cyber Security Services \u2013 Cybersecurity Services -Threat Intelligence Platform","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Threatshub.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#organization","name":"ThreatsHub.org","alternateName":"Threatshub.org","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/coredata\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Threatshub_Favicon1.jpg","width":432,"height":435,"caption":"ThreatsHub.org"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/threatshub"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12e0a8671ff89a863584f193e7062476","name":"TH Author","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/066276f086d5155df79c850206a779ad368418a844da0182ce43f9cd5b506c3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"TH Author"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}