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People have been pasting bogus QR codes on the parking meters where I live. They go to web sites that collect your credit card information, then forward you to

People have been pasting bogus QR codes on the parking meters where I live. They go to web sites that collect your credit card information, then forward you to the real web site. Someone put up fake "Pay to park" signs with QR codes on them in the parking garage of the hotel across the street. The hotel has no pay-to-park mechanism. You give the hotel your license plate number when you check in and the fee is added to your bill. Public trust of QR codes is such a massive security flaw.

palmer_fox 3y ago
The only surprising part in your story is that QR code scamming is somehow not a massive industry by now. Any charge and data collection could be easily hijacked. Entering Louvre? Scan this QR code real quick for a ticket. Waiting in line in a USCIS office? Scan this QR code and pre-register with ALL your personal details.
dannyphantom 3y ago
Ah! Yeah - this happened at my college. They sold the [huge] parking lot adjacent to the main union area to the company that owns all the lots in the city since it was so torn up and [assuming] didn't want to pay to fix it. Before it was sold, you just bought a little placard that hung from your rear-view mirror to park in the lot. Well - the company it was sold do has been doing the QR thing for years at this point so they just implemented it after a quick repaving and that was that. It's been a few people at this point who simply make a clone of the parking website and slap their own QR code stickers on a bunch of the spots. If you saw a ticket on the windshield upon returning to the car, most people assume they made a mistake so they are double paying for the spot. Once to a phisher and once to the actual company in the form of a ticket. Company has sent out a ton of emails about it but because the lot is so high-volume [it's next to a new stadium so it's no longer just business hours college parking] the ability to make a quick buck so easily is just...there. No changes being made by the company - you'll see a thread pop up on the city subreddit about it every now and then where others share their own experiences - and that's as far as it goes.

palmer_fox 3y ago

The only surprising part in your story is that QR code scamming is somehow not a massive industry by now. Any charge and data collection could be easily hijacked. Entering Louvre? Scan this QR code real quick for a ticket. Waiting in line in a USCIS office? Scan this QR code and pre-register with ALL your personal details.

dannyphantom 3y ago

Ah! Yeah - this happened at my college. They sold the [huge] parking lot adjacent to the main union area to the company that owns all the lots in the city since it was so torn up and [assuming] didn't want to pay to fix it. Before it was sold, you just bought a little placard that hung from your rear-view mirror to park in the lot. Well - the company it was sold do has been doing the QR thing for years at this point so they just implemented it after a quick repaving and that was that. It's been a few people at this point who simply make a clone of the parking website and slap their own QR code stickers on a bunch of the spots. If you saw a ticket on the windshield upon returning to the car, most people assume they made a mistake so they are double paying for the spot. Once to a phisher and once to the actual company in the form of a ticket. Company has sent out a ton of emails about it but because the lot is so high-volume [it's next to a new stadium so it's no longer just business hours college parking] the ability to make a quick buck so easily is just...there. No changes being made by the company - you'll see a thread pop up on the city subreddit about it every now and then where others share their own experiences - and that's as far as it goes.