THE City of Edinburgh Council has warned residents amid a reported increase in scammers using dodgy QR codes to swindle unsuspecting members of the public.
The codes, which are scannable using a mobile phone camera, could direct individuals to websites that gather personal details and payment information.
These illicit codes have been increasingly placed on legitimate stickers which are used to collect payment at parking meters or electric car charging points.
RingGo, who operate the payment service on parking meters in Edinburgh, have confirmed that they do not use QR codes on any of their signs, so any codes seen are likely to be scams.
Police Scotland have advised people to be wary when asked for personal information and to check URLs before opening them.
The City of Edinburgh Council said last week: “We’ve been made aware of malicious QR codes being put on some of our parking ticket machines. Please do not scan these.
“Our provider RingGo has advice on their website to stay safe and avoid scams: https://ringgo.co.uk/ringgo…/qr-code-stay-safe-from-scam”
They attached a photo of a QR code stuck on the front of a parking machine, with no writing or information around it.
RingGo has advised customers to avoid fake websites by downloading the official RingGo app, or making sure to only use their official websites.
They state they will never ask customers to pay using a QR code, will never ask for PIN codes, don’t use links for money in their texts or emails, and will not ask for money to be transferred.
Any suspicious QR codes should be reported to the council or private car park provider operating in the area.
Another digital payment provider, PayByPhone, has ceased their use of QR codes with their council and parking operating partners, as a “hard stance” against this type of fraud.
Trading Standards Scotland shared last week that there has been an increase in scams due to these counterfeit QR codes, as criminals have been sticking them over real ones.
They direct customers to advice from Police Scotland on QR code crime, also known as quishing, who say: “Review the preview of the QR code’s URL before opening it to see if it appears legitimate.
“You can do this by opening your mobile device camera and pointing this at the QR code.
“Be extremely wary if a QR code takes you to a site that asks for personal information, login credentials or payment
“Never scan a QR code from an unfamiliar or unexpected email.
“If you receive a QR code from a trusted contact via email, confirm via a separate medium such as text message or voice call that the message is legitimate
“Scam messages will often have a sense of urgency and will appeal to your emotions to try and convince you to take action quickly.”
