Heard of phishing? Meet its cousin, quishing

QR codes are an easy way to pay for parking near Rutgers, rent a scooter, or view the menu at your favorite restaurant, right? The issue is that scammers can use these codes to steal your information or money.

It’s called quishing: a form of phishing in which scammers replace legitimate QR codes with ones that direct you to sketchy websites or malware downloads. Luckily, you can learn to spot these traps by looking at key items:

Quality matters
Does the QR code look strange, like it’s torn, taped on, or covering another QR code? Does it make sense to use a QR code for what you’re being asked to do? Either of these can mean a fake code—use caution.

Try before you buy
Most smartphone cameras let you preview a link before you download or click. Just like in this infographic, if the link has a suspicious address, typos, or numbers replacing letters, it’s probably quishing.

Urgency does not mean emergency
Unnecessary urgent messages are usually a hoax. Visit the Phish Bowl page for resources and examples of suspicious messages.

And remember…
If a scam compromises your Rutgers account or data, report the incident by emailing abuse@rutgers.edu or calling the OIT Help Desk at 833-OIT-HELP.