Thanks to a fake QR Code stuck on a charging station located in a small village in the Loiret, some electric car owners had an unpleasant surprise. Indeed, while they thought they were paying for their electricity, they were in reality replenishing the pirates’ coffers.
In the small village of Lorris (Loiret), the holiday period was relatively ruined for several owners of electric cars. As our colleagues from the Central Republic report, scammers have set up a new fake QR Code scam on one of the electrical terminals accessible in the town.
The trap was simple, but extremely effective. To summarize, the pirates put a sticker with a fake QR Code on the one already present on the terminal. Normally, the scanner allows users to land on a dedicated payment platform. But this time, the drivers were sent back to a copy fabricated by pirates. You will have understood, instead of paying for the electricity delivered, these EV owners have actually replenished the coffers of the scammers.
Also read : QR Codes – be careful, hackers use them to empty your bank account
An astonishing scam for the village mayor
According to the city’s mayor Valérie Martin, the damage fortunately did not reach astronomical amounts. To avoid arousing suspicion, the scammers probably limited the amount of withdrawals, so that they remain close to the price of a recharge. Despite everything, the councilor confided his surprise to our colleagues from the local newspaper at this new kind of scam: “But as soon as we were informed of this hacking, our service provider INEO was very responsive and the terminal was immediately deactivated to avoid the multiplication of victims.
From what we know, the operator of the diverted electrical terminal is currently working on enhance device security (in particular to prevent this type of situation from recurring). As a reminder, fake QR Code scams have become more widespread in recent years, particularly with the pandemic and health measures.
In May 2023, we reported in our columns the case of this customer of a tea room in Singapore. While she thought she could benefit from a free drink by scanning this QR Code affixed to the window, she actually downloaded banking malware onto her smartphone. She had lost no less than $20,000 in this case.
Source: La République du Center