Better Business Bureau Warns of New Scam Involving QR Codes

It seems the bad guys never stop trying to think of new ways to scam us. News Channel 6 just did a story on a new type of mobile phone scam that I'd never heard of before. The bad guys create a QR code that takes you to a phishing site and asks for your personal information.

Don't fall for it.

Before we get into that, Quick Response codes have been around since the mid 1990s and have many legitimate uses. You can scan the code on products at the store to learn more about it or even see a video of the product in use. Some restaurants use QR codes to download their menus to your phone or direct you to their app downloads.

These are all fine. Just be sure where the code came from and you'll most likely be alright. If you were sent the code in a text message and you don't know the sender it's highly suspect. Even if it looks like it came from someone you know you might want to check with them first to make sure it's legit.

Your phone probably came with a QR scanner already installed, but many antivirus companies have their own readers with better security built into them that you can download to your device.

The Better Business Bureau also has constantly updated information on scams going on around the country, you can check those out on their website.

You can see the full interview with Monica Horton from the Wichita Falls Better Business Bureau on the News Channel 6 website.

As long as we have things to steal the bad guys will be finding new ways to try to take them. If anything looks suspicious to you, don't click on it.