Fraud investigations into fake QR Codes have been underway across the nation, with cities like Austin, Houston, and San Antonio in Texas, as well as Newtown, Massachusetts, for instance.

Consumers may be familiar with public-facing scams, such as fraudsters tricking people into sharing payment information on fraudulent websites using fake QR Codes stickered onto parking meters.

In April, the national fraud reporting centre, Action Fraud, received 1,386 reports of people being targeted last year using QR codes, compared with 100 in 2019.