There's Always a Dark Side

Get to the iPhone Control Center by
swiping down from top right corner,
then tap the QR Code scan button.

Late to the party, I discovered the iPhone's Quick-Response (QR) Code scanner (image right) a few months ago. I scanned codes indiscriminately from menus, TV programs, magazines, and websites.

But wasting time is far from the worst thing that can happen.

Beware of QR Code Scams

in December, a much darker scenario involving QR codes unfolded when malicious actors placed QR-code stickers on parking meters in major Texas cities, directing drivers to a fraudulent website where they supposedly could pay for parking.

“People were tricked into putting in their credit-card information,” says Eric Chien, security threat researcher at Symantec...

The best way to thwart would-be scams is to manually input the desired website when a QR code seems fishy or untrustworthy....

Baiting-the-hook graphic by WSJ

Use a password manager, which won’t autofill your credentials on a suspicious site; make sure your credit cards have functions to protect against theft and fraud; don’t input personally identifiable information on an unknown website.

New, exciting tech breaches our cautious nature.

In the Brave New World we can never let down our guard.