Pickpockets Are Now Targeting Wallet Apps

Few people carry cash now, thanks to credit cards and mobile payment apps. If you use mobile payment apps, a banking app, or have debit and credit cards attached to your device, then you should be more cautious of security threats to your device. If you’re on-the-go and want to verify the security of your phone, use the Security Scan feature. Click here to quickly check your device for malware:

Read More: New Credit Card Skimmers Harder to Detect Than Ever

Thieves Are Targeting Wallet Apps

In China, pickpockets are now targeting mobile payment apps. It was recently reported that more than $14 million was stolen from consumers through fraudulent QR codes. A QR code is a type of barcode that can be used for a variety of purposes: it can send you to a web address, log you into a website, or it can hold your payment information, such as your bank account information or your credit card number.

Unfortunately, this technology is still not a very secure payment method: hackers can easily manipulate a QR code and paste their own code over the original code. This allows them to then steal money from consumers. For example, a consumer could scan a QR code that, once scanned, becomes a malicious link. This could then lead to the consumer’s device being compromised, which is why it’s important to regularly scan your device for malware — you never really know how and when a virus will show up. Once the smartphone is infected with the virus, it can then be used to steal money from mobile wallet apps.

Payment apps are extremely popular in China — you can pay for just about any item, anywhere. You can use it to pay for dinner, get groceries, get a massage, and etc. You’ll then pay for goods by having your QR code scanned. More recently, a number of fraudulent QR codes have been attached to bike rentals in China. Thieves were able to trick consumers into sending money to them instead of the bike rental company.

While pickpocketing mobile payment apps is currently more of an issue in China, it’s always best to be vigilant about cybersecurity across the world: it’s very possible that this scam could make its way to the US. In order to improve the security of QR codes, payment apps need to actively alert users to suspicious activity. Further, QR codes should regularly be examined in shops and elsewhere to make sure that no one has been tampering with them.