Beware! Bhubaneswar vendor falls victim to QR code payment scam

If you are a vendor and receiving digital payments through a QR code, then beware. A new kind of scam came to the fore in Bhubaneswar on Friday after a shopkeeper fell victim to a QR code scam.  

According to sources, the complainant, who owns a shop at Cuttack Road, had installed a QR code at his shop to allow customers to make payments through digital mode. However, he was surprised after not getting the payment confirmations on the sound box installed at the shop. 

Suspecting something fishy, the shopkeeper checked the QR code. He was shocked to find that another QR code was affixed to his QR code. Due to this, all the payments made by the customers on their purchases were credited to the fraudster's bank account. 

After learning about the scam, the victim shopkeeper lodged a complaint with the Cyber police in Bhubaneswar. The cyber police have initiated a probe into the matter. 

“For three to four days, I did not receive any confirmations on payments. Then, I checked the QR code and found that another QR code was affixed over it. Due to this, the money was getting into the fraudster’s account. Around Rs 12-13K was duped by the fraudsters through this QR code scam and I don’t even know when my original QR code was replaced. I have given all the details to Cyber police and the police are investigating the matter,” said the shopkeeper.