Guide
Are QR codes safe? Spotting fake codes
Short answer: scanning a QR code is safe – it only shows an address. The risk is the page it opens: fake codes (often stickers over real ones) lead to phishing pages that ask for passwords or card details.
Where fake codes appear
- Stickers on parking meters and EV chargers (“pay here”).
- Fake delivery or bank letters and emails.
- Posters in public places promising prizes.
Check before you trust
- Look at the address the phone shows before opening it.
- Is there a sticker over the original code? Feel it.
- Never enter passwords or card details on a page you reached by a code you are not sure of – open the official app or type the address yourself.
- Be careful with codes that want to install an app or a profile.
What we do at GITECHY QR
- Every dynamic destination is checked with Google’s unsafe-site list when it is saved and again every day.
- Unsafe codes are blocked and show a warning instead.
- Every page a code opens has a “Report this code” link – reports are reviewed quickly.
For businesses
Protect your own codes: print them on the material (not as loose stickers), check them now and then, and tell customers where your official codes are.
Questions
I found a suspicious GITECHY QR code. What now?
Use “Report this code” at the bottom of the page it opens, or the report page.
Related
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