Just over a decade ago, your phone was an essential device that you used to reach people and stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Now, the small device in your pocket is capable of everything from streaming movies or live TV, buying your groceries for the week, booking a flight with a few taps of your finger, or even unlocking your home’s front door. But even as technology has made our lives more convenient in some ways, it’s also made us more vulnerable—including a new type of cybercrime involving your phone that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning the public about. Read on to see what has the top law enforcement agency so concerned.
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Even though they’ve been around for more than a decade, QR codes became more commonly used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they’ve become so commonplace that one was used in a viral commercial during this year’s Super Bowl. But while they can be handy for looking at a restaurant’s menu or visiting your favorite shop’s online store within seconds, criminals can also use them for nefarious purposes. The FBI is warning that scammers are now using the scannable symbols to take advantage of unsuspecting victims in some cases.
In a public service announcement released on Jan. 18, the agency said that despite plenty of legitimate uses, “cybercriminals are taking…
