Mangaluru: QR code scamsters can empty your bank balance

MANGALURU: The city is witnessing a rise in the number of QR code scams. They have the potential to wipe your account clean. A quick response code is similar to a bar code, which is an image that can be read by a machine.
Last week, an electronic shop in the central business district area received a call, and the caller addressed himself as an officer in the Indian Army. He then booked a refrigerator and said that he would make the payment for it through a digital wallet platform.
After obtaining the digital wallet number, he transferred a small amount, to gain the trust of the dealer. Later, the conman called the shop and said that he has sent a QR code to scan, to the shopkeeper’s WhatsApp number, which will help him to make the remaining payment, and the same will be credited to the account. When the shopkeeper scanned the same, all the money from his bank account got transferred to the conman’s account.
“Such incidents are on the rise in Mangaluru. People easily believe it when the person calling introduces themselves as personnel of the Indian Army. In reality, these are conmen with a new modus operandi of conning people, especially those who run shops and restaurants,” said an official from the city cyber police station, on condition of anonymity.
Such cases are increasing every day, and were first reported from December last year. “The cases of QR code scams are on the rise in the city, and in the past three months, city cyber police have registered more than 100 cases,” said a source, adding that all the victims are shopkeepers involved in various business activities.
Due to the QR code scam, victims are losing money, anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 or more. Apart from it, such fraudsters are active in the online market place. The conmen claim to be Indian Army personnel. “A woman, who put up some household things on sale online, too was a victim of the QR Code scam,” added a cyber police official. Such incidents take place mostly on weekends or public holidays, where banks remain closed.
In 2019, Mangaluru city cyber police station registered about 600 FIRs, and an equal number of non-cognizable reports related to various cybercrimes in the city.