Beware of QR codes in alleged mail from the bank

Phishing attempts via email or SMS have been known for some time. But now criminals are also trying to send emails. There are currently various fake letters in circulation from banks that want to use QR codes to get their victims' money.

Banks and other credit institutions have been warning about the dangers of phishing emails for years. These have become increasingly professional in the past. But customers have also become more aware.

For this reason, criminals are now taking a different approach. After emails and SMS, the focus is now on fake mail, as the Lower Saxony State Office of Criminal Investigation warns.

Fake letters: What you should look out for when receiving mail from your bank

Spam in email inboxes is not uncommon for Internet users. However, such letters rarely appear in one's own mailbox.

However, as the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office reports, criminals are currently trying to get their potential victims' money by mail. The LKA quotes two letters that allegedly come from Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank.

In it, the recipients are informed “about an important matter related” to their account. The bank is obliged “in accordance with the EU regulations on the prevention of money laundering (AML) and the Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines” to “accurately establish the identity of its customers and to re-verify them at regular intervals”.

We therefore ask you to check your current data and update it if necessary. To make this process as easy as possible for you, we have included a QR code. Please scan this with the camera on your smartphone.

The letter contains a QR code that the bank's customers can supposedly use to check their data. In fact, the link provided here only serves to intercept the customers' bank details.

How to recognize a fake QR code

The QR code included in the fake letters directs bank customers to a fake banking page of the respective bank. Here, customers must log in and go through various other processes. This is how they finally gain access to real online banking.

You can tell whether it is a scam or a real letter from your bank by looking at the QR code. If you scan this with the camera on your smartphone, you will see that the link leads to a website with the ending “.ru”, for example. It is also possible that there is a short link behind the QR code whose destination is not recognizable.

Before you take these steps, however, you should set your smartphone so that links from QR codes are not opened immediately. It can also be useful to look at the entire URL or to break down short links using a reverse search.

If you are still not sure after checking the QR code, a call to your bank can provide some information. It is better to play it safe and clarify the letter with your bank as a precaution.

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