QR Sticker Swap Shop Scam through a QR code

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

QR scams work because people trust the little square. The code may open a payment screen, a fake website or an app download. QR Sticker Swap Shop Scam is one of the ways this shows up: Scammers paste their own QR code over a shop's real one, so customers pay the wrong account and the shopkeeper is never paid.

What qr sticker swap shop scam looks like through a QR code

• A sticker pasted over a shop or parking 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.

The scammer visits the shop or parking area when nobody is watching the counter. They print a QR code linked to their own account on a sticker the same size as the real one and paste it on top, or on a standee next to the till. The trick takes a few seconds, and the new sticker is often placed on a laminated board so it looks original.

Red flags to check on the QR code

• A QR sticker is pasted over or beside the original code.
• The receiver name on the pay screen is not the shop's name.
• The code looks crooked, bubbly or newer than the board around it.
• Your sound box or app does not show credits for payments that customers say they made.
• 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. Check the receiver name on the payment page before you press pay.
2. As a shop owner, inspect your QR code every morning and use a sealed or engraved code.
3. Ask customers to pay by typing your UPI ID or confirm the name aloud.
4. Press on a shop code to see if it is a sticker; ask the shop to read out the name you should see.
5. If you paid the wrong place, call 1930 at once and tell your bank.
6. Do not scan codes sent by strangers. Receiving money never needs a scan or a PIN.

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. Call 1930 as soon as you realise you paid the wrong account and give the transaction ID.
2. Tell your bank through the number on your card or passbook.
3. Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in with a photo of the fake sticker and the payment screen.
4. Shop owners should also note the time window when the sticker was in place.

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

Safeavio's QR check lets you scan a code and see where it goes before you pay or open it, which can help you notice a code that does not match the shop. Money Shield reminds you to confirm the receiver name before you pay. Safeavio cannot see a physical sticker and cannot tell you whether a UPI account belongs to the shop.

Full guide: QR Sticker Swap Shop Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: fake app, social media.

Questions