Links, fake websites and QR codes

What is a link?

A link is a piece of text in a message that opens a website when you tap it. It often looks blue or underlined, like www.example.com.

Many links are safe. But scammers send links to fake websites that steal your details or your money.

Fake websites copy real ones

A fake website can look exactly like your bank or a delivery company. Same colours, same logo.

Often the only difference is a few letters in the website address. If you type your details on a fake site, the scammer gets them.

QR codes

A QR code is a square of black dots. You scan it with your phone camera, and it opens a website or a payment page.

Scammers sometimes stick their own QR code on top of a real one, at a shop, a petrol station or on a poster. Your money then goes to them, not to the shop.

What to do instead

• Don’t tap links in messages you were not expecting, even if they seem to come from your bank.
• To check something, open your bank app yourself, or call the number on the back of your card.
• Before you pay with a QR code, check the name that appears on the payment screen. If it is not the shop’s name, stop and ask.
• If a QR code looks like a sticker on top of another one, don’t scan it. Ask the shop for their account details instead.