[HN Gopher] FBI warns hackers are planting fake QR CODES in rest...
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FBI warns hackers are planting fake QR CODES in restaurants that
steal your data
Author : LinuxBender
Score : 34 points
Date : 2023-05-03 19:58 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.dailymail.co.uk)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.dailymail.co.uk)
| LinuxBender wrote:
| Probably not as lucrative but I could envision people pranking
| others by replacing QR codes that take them to a "shock" site
| with obscene loud sounds but I do not know what would be
| considered shocking or obscene by today's standards. Perhaps this
| is already a thing.
| jandrese wrote:
| Not that I don't implicitly trust a tech article on the Daily
| Fail, but are there any documented cases of this actually
| happening? The article was very light on specific details.
| pvaldes wrote:
| I told you
| arghandugh wrote:
| Why is an inflammatory story from a foreign rightwing
| disinformation outlet being posted here?
| throw352023 wrote:
| [flagged]
| burnished wrote:
| Did that article seriously never once link or present the primary
| source they are reporting on? I feel as though I know less now
| than I did before I started it, and not in a 'the world is so
| much larger than I knew' way.
| autoexec wrote:
| Restaurants are also planting QR CODES in restaurants that steal
| your data, but the FBI isn't warning anyone about it. Just stick
| to physical menus. That way, nobody collects unnecessary data
| about you and your devices, and best of all you can make sure
| that you're getting the same prices and options as everyone else.
| saulpw wrote:
| An increasing number of restaurants don't have physical menus
| anymore. "Just scan the QR code" the waiter says, as blithely
| as you say "Just stick to physical menus". Just nothing. These
| are societal-level changes, same as not accepting cash or
| requiring an app to pay for parking. It's easier for the
| business and 90% of consumers will go along with it. Too bad
| for everyone who gets hacked or doesn't have a smartphone or
| can't get a credit card.
| andirk wrote:
| Requiring hardware to order a meal at a restaurant is
| classist period. We all think everyone has a QR code readable
| device and a credit card so it's no sweat. I have those
| things but not always on me and it is laughable when I can't
| order something because of it. Paper menus, cash, and paper
| ballot counting. If someone in certain situations can't
| accept cash, I understand that.
|
| And I had this man-in-the-middle idea first time I saw QR
| menus, but, instead, the bad actor DOES make the dish
| nextdoor so the customer is fine!
| jacquesm wrote:
| I've had this happen. Then I told them I don't have a
| smartphone. In some cases the restaurant will then provide a
| tablet and in others suddenly paper menus are available. It
| hasn't happened yet that a restaurant decided to forego a
| bunch of income on account of my not having a smartphone, so
| maybe just say you don't have one and see what happens next?
| lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote:
| This is also a perfect case for "voting with your feet". If
| it doesn't work to claim you have no way of viewing the QR
| code menu, turn around and walk out the door. (Obviously,
| this is more difficult to do with large groups but it's
| something which could be decided on beforehand, especially
| with smaller groups.)
| iamdamian wrote:
| I wish more people would do this. I do.
|
| That said, it only works if enough people do it and if
| the feedback actually gets back to the restaurant owners.
|
| I would love to see "had QR menu" as a label on Apple and
| Google Maps so that I'd know not to bother with the
| restaurant in the first place.
| silisili wrote:
| I did this at a local place recently. It wasn't even a
| nice/fancy/new place, quite the opposite on all accounts.
| I just said we don't fiddle with our phones during meals,
| and requested a paper menu. They said no, and we left.
|
| At minimum, they could have some kind of 'board' like
| sandwich shops, right? Having nothing but a QR code on a
| slip of paper taped to a table is ridiculous.
| [deleted]
| pixelbath wrote:
| Ok, taking this story at face value _despite_ it being from the
| Daily Mail...if your phone can "instantly download malware onto
| your device, stealing your location and personal information"
| without any prompting or further user action by simply visiting a
| URL, that seems like something the FBI should be warning device
| manufacturers about instead of the average person.
|
| "QR codes scary and bad!" isn't a very productive line of
| discussion.
| sneed_chucker wrote:
| Just another reason to hate the QR code menu trend
| tedunangst wrote:
| Can you be juice jacked by a QR code?
| c-fe wrote:
| DailyMail? Why are these low-effort articles posted on hacker
| news?
|
| Also,
|
| > Instead of taking you to an online menu or checkout, the links
| instantly download malware onto your device, stealing your
| location and personal information
|
| How is that supposed to work? Specifically on iOS?
| seattle_spring wrote:
| There's unfortunately a large subset of HNers that find rags
| like DailyMail, New York Post, and ZeroHedge reputable. Makes
| it really important to check the source before engaging.
| ss108 wrote:
| NYPost is in a liminal spot; for example, if it's saying
| something happened in NYC, that thing likely happened in NYC,
| in my experience. Its commentary on said event can likely be
| ignored if it's the kind of event that gets right-wing voters
| riled up, but it doesn't just make shit up. It's not
| Breitbart or something lol, and if the issue isn't a
| political hot topic, I don't know if one needs to avoid it
| pengaru wrote:
| This is such an obvious vulnerability. It blows my mind that out
| here in SoCal - especially post-COVID LA-proper, you'll often
| encounter restaurants _only_ providing menus via QR code.
|
| Between that practice and the increasingly common outright
| refusal to accept cash, every time I visit friends in Santa
| Monica it's become an exceptional experience just to get a
| morning espresso using cash and no smartphone.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd4YgudTcnM
| burnished wrote:
| Do you mean that you have asked for a physical menu or other
| accommodation and been refused?
| pengaru wrote:
| Yes, increasingly some places just don't maintain a print
| menu of any kind anymore.
|
| At least in one case I was referred to an illegible
| chalkboard which I guess is better than nothing, even if it
| was incomplete. But being near-sighted it's preferable to
| hold a paper menu... Even if it's just some low-brow
| unlaminated printout I'd be satisfied! But nope, welcome to
| the future.
|
| Nowadays if I find myself in such a place and they at least
| will accept cash for payment, I'll just make them describe
| the menu verbally. Maybe if enough of us generate that amount
| of inconvenience for them they'll get a clue and learn how to
| use a printer.
|
| It's like it's part of their trendy/hipster image to not have
| menus and do everything through a phone. Part of how they
| appeal to a younger demographic perhaps? I think that's the
| visible aspect, but the deeper rationale is more about
| invading customers' privacy by getting hooks into their
| phones. Then on the cashless side it's discriminatory and
| rooted in mistrust of employees handling cash...
| ss108 wrote:
| I don't begrudge a place not dealing in cash, but the no paper
| menu thing is really annoying, and I find surprising unanimity
| among my friends about this. I am currently in NYC but visit LA
| regularly.
| RockRobotRock wrote:
| Refusing cash was never about COVID or the environment, it's
| about keeping homeless people out.
| pengaru wrote:
| They were definitely already pushing cashless pre-COVID, but
| COVID green-lighted a lot more of it in the name of
| flattening the curve by being "contactless".
|
| The same rationale was being used to push the QR codes and
| deprecating paper menus.
|
| COVID-19 is a master class of "never let a good crisis go to
| waste".
|
| BTW it wasn't strictly about keeping homeless out, it's also
| to prevent theft of the register by staff. This is definitely
| not a one-dimensional issue. But I do think the
| discrimination against the homeless facet is all the cities
| need to outright ban the practice for their licensed public-
| serving businesses.
| throwaway22032 wrote:
| Yeah. It's honestly just really weird and a bit cringe.
|
| I started to choose holiday destinations based on whether it's
| like, a normal business environment. This began during
| coronavirus, but now with the whole cashless thing becoming
| sticky it's become a seemingly permanent choice.
| JohnFen wrote:
| > you'll often encounter restaurants only providing menus via
| QR code.
|
| What??
|
| > increasingly common outright refusal to accept cash
|
| Well, those two things alone are excellent reasons for me to
| avoid going there.
| yawnxyz wrote:
| basically every restaurant in Sydney right now
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