Shop Counter QR Sticker Swap Targeting Small Merchants 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. Shop Counter QR Sticker Swap Targeting Small Merchants is one of the ways this shows up: Scammers paste their own payment QR over a shop's real code so customers pay the wrong account. Shopkeepers and customers should check the name.

What shop counter qr sticker swap targeting small merchants 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.

The set-up is a quick visit. The scammer, acting like a customer, buys a small item and places a printed QR sticker over the shop's code, or leaves a new standee on the counter that looks like the old one. The code he uses belongs to an account under his control. The sticker uses the same colours and style as the shop's board, so a quick glance shows nothing unusual.

Red flags to check on the QR code

• A QR board looks newer, thicker or slightly misaligned.
• The soundbox or app does not confirm a payment the customer says was made.
• The payee name shown to customers does not match the shop's name.
• A stranger spent time at the counter and touched the board.
• The payee name on the payment screen does not match the shop.
• A code looks stuck on top of another one.

What to do

1. Check the QR board each morning and evening for stickers or changes.
2. Prefer a soundbox or app alert linked to your own account for each payment.
3. Ask customers to confirm that the payee name matches your shop.
4. Do not scan codes sent by strangers. Receiving money never needs a scan or a PIN.
5. Before paying, read the payee name and the amount on the payment screen.
6. Check where a code goes with a QR checker before you open the link (Safeavio Sentinel can do this).

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 or a customer paid the wrong account, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in with the UPI reference.
2. Tell your bank through its official app so the receiving account can be noted.
3. Keep a photo of the sticker, the shop's board and the transaction list.
4. Replace the QR board with a fresh one from your own bank's app.

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

QR check in Safeavio Sentinel scans a code and shows where it goes before you pay, which helps customers and shopkeepers notice a payee that does not match the shop. Money Shield explains what to verify before paying. Safeavio cannot detect a sticker on a physical board, cannot confirm that payments arrived and cannot recover money sent to the wrong account.

Full guide: Shop Counter QR Sticker Swap Targeting Small Merchants: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: fake app, social media, phone call.

Questions