As with any popular new topic or device – where the consumers go, the criminals are sure to follow. Unfortunately, my Droid is one of the most at risk with a 76% increase in malware targeting the Android platform in the 2nd quarter of 2011 according to McAfee.
How are criminals targeting Smartphone? The most recent swindle involves QR codes. “Quick Response” codes are those digital barcodes that look like this.
You can find them in magazines and in store windows. When you scan them with your phone, a good code will direct you to a website, which tells you more about a product, pops up a video or directs you to enter a contest. Expect lots of them on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to point you to some great deals!
If you come across a code that is not from a legitimate source, such as a magazine, the code will download will send sms texts to a premium site and you will get a very unpleasant holiday surprise from your cell phone provider in the form of an expensive bill.
With this particular scam, it requires your permission to run the code. To avoid this scam, use a QR code scanner that previews the url. I use QR Droid or Google Goggles for my scanning fun. These scanners show me the destination URL and doesn’t “autorun” or “auto load” anything on my phone without telling me what it is. If you have an iPhone, use Red Laser or Bar-Code for your holiday scanning pleasure.
For more specifics about QR codes and how this type of threat works see these posts by Arun Sabapathy and Jimmy Shah. You can also learn about the 12 Scams of Christmas here.
Stay safe out there!
Tracy
By: Tracy Mooney
