FBI warns about thieves using QR codes to steal your data

Quick Response codes, better known as QR codes, are a convenient way for businesses to get you to visit their websites, download their apps or make payments. But the FBI says fake QR codes can be used to embed malware onto a victim's phone, giving a scam artist access to the device and potentially any information on it, including financial information. The FBI wants you to closely check the websites those codes send you to and avoid downloading any apps through QR codes, and instead go to the app store to look it up.

Class discussion: Have you used QR codes on a cell phone? If you did, what were using the QR code to get – a menu, an app or something else? How do scam artists take advantage of both old and new technologies? Do they still use telephones and regular mail to cheat people out of their money? How many people have fallen for emails promising a rich reward for helping a “Nigerian prince?” How aware are you of all the different ways scammers try to steal your money or information? Have you ever heard the warning: “If a deal sounds too good to be true – it isn’t”?