We see QR Codes everywhere. Right? Common places that you might see them include websites, email newsletters, business signs on the highway, on bumper stickers. Restaurants sometimes use them to show you their menu while you are sitting at the table or at home ordering takeout. Heck, they are even on the back of cereal boxes.

Sometimes they send you to a webpage with information. Sometimes they send you to a payment page for a purchase you might be making either at home or at a local business. Musicians even use them (including me) to give audience members an easy option for tipping.

If you are not familiar with QR Codes, here is what they look like:

Wikipedia
Wikipedia
loading...

The above QR Code, if you scan it, will take you to the English Wikipedia Mobile main page. It's completely harmless. Go ahead. Try it!

 

Sydney Pub To Accept Bitcoin Virtual Currency
Getty Images
loading...

(Above: another way a QR Code might be legitimately used - paying your tab at your favorite bar or restaurant)

 

Generally, these QR Codes are legitimately used. However, just like with everything else that is used widely in this world, scammers have found a way to take advantage of them and YOU... if you're not careful! These scams are perpetrated all over the world, all over the U.S. including Massachusetts... And Berkshire County is certainly not immune. So, be careful.

 

Get our free mobile app

 

Now... the warning!

As part of a recent press release, the Better Business Bureau that serves parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, says that you do have to be careful. Scammers have caught on to the fact they people use QR Codes all the time, and they are, as always, out to get you.

Be smart!

According to the BBB and warnings issued by police departments in cities across the country, some QR codes will send users to phishing websites, fraudulent payment portals, and downloads that could infect your smartphone, tablet, or computer, with a virus or malware. And what makes it difficult to detect is that not only do these bad QR Codes come from unsolicited communications, but they are often posted in a publicly accessible location.

Some ways that QR Codes can be fraudulently used to scam you include:

 

  • Fraudulent QR codes are often placed on the back of parking meters
  • Fraudulent traders may direct investors to their digital wallets through a QR code
  • Phishing scams with a code found in an email, text, or flyer.
  • False utility or government representative claims that failure to pay an unpaid bill will result in arrest

 

And here are some ways that BBB says you can avoid being QR Code scammed:

 

  • Confirm the QR code before scanning. If you receive a QR code from a friend be sure to confirm with that person that they meant to send you the code.
  • Do not open links from strangers.
  • Be wary of short links. Suppose a shortened URL appears when hovering your camera over a QR code.
  • Check for tampering. Some scammers attempt to mislead consumers by altering legitimate business ads or placing stickers on the QR code.

 

BBB says that If you’ve been the victim of a QR scam, report it at BBB.org/ScamTracker.

 

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

 

LOOK: Things from the year you were born that don't exist anymore

The iconic (and at times silly) toys, technologies, and electronics have been usurped since their grand entrance, either by advances in technology or breakthroughs in common sense. See how many things on this list trigger childhood memories—and which ones were here and gone so fast you missed them entirely.

 

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

 

More From WBEC FM