Disaster and Charity Donation QR Scam through a QR code

How it looks through a QR code, the red flags and what to do.

A QR code hides the link inside a picture, so you cannot read where it goes before you scan. Scammers stick fake codes over real ones or send them by chat. Disaster and Charity Donation QR Scam is one of the ways this shows up: After a flood, accident or illness story goes viral, fake appeals share a personal QR. Learn how to give safely and how to spot a fake relief fund.

What disaster and charity donation qr scam looks like through a QR code

• A QR code sent on WhatsApp "to receive money".
• A code on a poster or flyer with a prize or a job offer.
• A QR that opens a payment screen with an amount already filled in.

Scammers watch the news and prepare a post with a moving photo, usually taken from another event, and a short caption with a QR code. They set up accounts that look like charities, with a logo copied from a real group. The caption says that funds are needed today for food, treatment or rescue, and shows a number of donors already helped.

Red flags to check on the QR code

• A QR that leads to a personal name, not a registered organisation.
• A photo with no place, date or named organiser.
• Pressure to forward the post to many groups.
• A promise of a tax receipt from an unknown volunteer.
• You are told to scan a QR code to receive money; you never need to scan to receive.
• The payee name on the payment screen does not match the shop.

What to do

1. Give through a registered organisation or the official government relief fund, typed by hand.
2. Check the receiver's name shown in the UPI app before paying.
3. Search for the organiser's own website and compare the payment details.
4. Before paying, read the payee name and the amount on the payment screen.
5. Check where a code goes with a QR checker before you open the link (Safeavio Sentinel can do this).
6. Press on a shop code to see if it is a sticker; ask the shop to read out the name you should see.

If you lost money through a QR code, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in; tell the bank the transaction details.

If money or a code is already gone

1. If you were tricked into paying, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.
2. Tell your bank on the number on your card and ask about the transfer.
3. Share the fake post's link with the platform so it can be removed.
4. Keep screenshots of the post, QR and the payment record.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's QR check shows where a QR code goes before you pay and warns about odd destinations, and the scam check on a pasted appeal can point out the pressure to forward and the vague details. Money Shield's checklist reminds you to confirm the receiver's name. It cannot judge whether a cause is deserving, so give only to organisations you can verify.

Full guide: Disaster and Charity Donation QR Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: social media, WhatsApp, SMS.

Questions