Authorities are warning the public to watch out for a new type of “QR Code” scam, saying that people should be prudent when downloading QR codes in public places.
It was found that criminal gangs have been producing bogus QR codes from a code generator through a Web site, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported earlier this week.
Through this process, the criminal gangs are posting their bogus QR codes at public places, which, when scanned, link to their own sites, and can register the data of the person doing the downloading.
The unsuspecting downloaders of the bogus QR codes have their numbers hijacked by the criminal gangs for use in money scams. Those who download a bogus QR code may become an accessory to the gang’s fraud and illegal money-transfer activities.
A QR code is a type of matrix barcode, which is a machine-readable optical label containing digital information. They are increasingly used in product advertisement, business transactions and in promotional campaigns for downloading by smartphone users.
A Hsinchu County man told local police he received a phone call recently asking him, “Who are you? Why do you send me text messages for a scam Web site?”
The man checked in his mobile phone to find that he had received the same scam Web site, after earlier clicking on an unknown Web site. The man then realized his telephone number had been used by a criminal gang for fraudulent activities.
Police said that due to the growing prevalence of smartphones, many companies and product service sites are available by QR Code, so people can scan and download information instantly.
The police warned that criminal gangs had picked up on this, creating QR codes for their scam Web sites, which were then posted at airports, restaurants, MRT stations, hotels, tourist attractions, and other public places.
When scanning the QR codes, the unsuspecting public is inadvertently linked to the bogus Web sites.
Hsinchu’s Chudong District (竹東) Police Chief Huang Chih-hsiang (黃志祥) said a recent scam entices smartphone users to reply or link to a Web site sent by text message, where the set-up makes the user agree to make a small payment.
“Furthermore, the person who receives the text message has his phone automatically captured to become a new sender of the text message, so he becomes an accessory to the criminal operation,” Huang said.
He reminded the public that although it may seem easy and convenient to scan and download QR Code in public places, “one must check carefully if it was authentic and posted by the store itself, or by the institutional place itself. Also, do not reply or click into Web sites received via text messaging. If anyone has queries, they can call the ‘165’ anti-scam hotline.”
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS