---
title: "QR code scams: how to spot one | URLert"
description: "A code on a parking meter, a sticker, a letter or an email that opens a fake page to pay or sign in. How to check a QR code before you use it."
url: https://www.urlert.com/scams/qr-codes
mcp: https://www.urlert.com/mcp
---

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[All scam guides](https://www.urlert.com/scams.md)

# QR codes

A code on a parking meter, a sticker, a letter or an email that opens a fake page to pay or sign in. How to check a QR code before you use it.

A sticker on a parking meter

Scan to pay for parking.

(The meter's own code is underneath.)

On this page

1. What it looks like
2. How to spot one
3. What to do
4. Already acted?
5. Similar scams

## What it looks like

A sticker on a parking meter

Scan to pay for parking.

(The meter's own code is underneath.)

An email

From to me

Your password expires today. Scan the code with your phone to keep it.

(a QR code)

A note in a package you didn't order

A gift for you! Scan the code to see who sent it.

Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.

## How to spot one

1. **A sticker on top of a printed code,** or a code that looks added later.
2. **A code in an email that asks you to sign in or pay.** It moves you to your phone, where the address is harder to check.
3. **The page it opens asks you to pay, sign in or install an app.**
4. **A code on something you didn't order or expect,** like a package or a letter, that asks you to scan to find out more.

## What to do

1. **Read the address your camera shows** before you open it.
2. **A QR code can lead anywhere.** Check for a sticker over the real code, and don't pay or sign in on the page it opens. Pay at the machine, or in the official app.
3. **Still not sure?** Take a screenshot of the code and [check it](https://www.urlert.com/index.md). We open its link on a phone and a computer, not yours, and tell you what it is.

### Already scanned it and paid or signed in?

- [I gave my card details](https://www.urlert.com/recover/card.md)
- [I gave a password or a code](https://www.urlert.com/recover/password.md)
- [I installed something](https://www.urlert.com/recover/installed.md)
- [I only opened the link](https://www.urlert.com/recover/opened.md)

## Similar scams

- [Fake sign-in pages](https://www.urlert.com/scams/fake-sign-in-pages.md)
- [Parcel, toll and tax fees](https://www.urlert.com/scams/parcel-toll-tax-fees.md)
- [Fake downloads and apps](https://www.urlert.com/scams/fake-downloads.md)

On this page

1. What it looks like
2. How to spot one
3. What to do
4. Already acted?
5. Similar scams

[URLert home](https://www.urlert.com/index.md)

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