The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is cautioning the public about a new scam being utilized by criminals to commit identity fraud.
It’s known as quishing, a form of phishing that employs fake QR codes to deceive individuals into disclosing their personal information.
The scammers typically begin the attack by circulating a message with a QR code through social media, public postings, or unsolicited text or email. The message will likely be inviting, offering a gift or discount to eager consumers.
Upon scanning the QR code, the viewer will be directed to the scammer’s website, which may seem legitimate but is actually a guise used by the criminal to earn a person’s trust. This trust can then be exploited to acquire the user’s personal details, such as their name, address, banking information, passwords, and more.
The scammers can subsequently use this personal information for identity fraud, including making purchases with your bank account, opening new credit card accounts in your name, misusing your social security number, and fraudulently changing your account address, among other things.
To safeguard yourself, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service offers a few recommendations:
- Verify the source of a QR code prior to scanning by directly contacting the advertised company. This can also alert the entity being impersonated by the scammer and enable them to take preventive measures.
- Ask your carrier’s customer service to block all spam messages, including text messages sent as emails.
- Keep your technology updated to enhance protection against scams.
The notice about the quishing scam follows a prior warning from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service regarding another form of phishing known as smishing, where scammers use text messages disguised as government agencies to obtain victims’ personal information. These deceptive texts may claim you have a USPS delivery needing a response, but the agency advises against clicking the link.
Instead, they advise reporting the issue to USPS and checking official delivery tracking information on their website.
