Quishing

Quishing is a scam that hides inside a QR code… those little square barcodes you scan with your phone camera. Scan a booby-trapped one and it whisks you off to a fake website built to steal your passwords or payment info. The name is just “QR” plus “phishing.”

The trick works because we’ve been trained to think QR codes are harmless. Scammers slap fake ones on parking meters, mail you phony “package delivery” notices, or paste them into emails… and the code gives away nothing about where it actually sends you.

Why should I care?

You can’t eyeball a QR code the way you can squint at a suspicious web address, which is exactly why crooks love them. Simple rule: be wary of scanning codes in random public spots or in unexpected messages, and if scanning one demands you log in or pay right now, back out. A sticker on a lamppost has no business asking for your password.