PETALING JAYA: A plea for public assistance on social media turned into a nightmare for a 33-year-old woman after scammers hijacked her bank account’s QR code.
The woman, known only as Siti, posted her payment QR code online seeking financial help to buy milk and diapers for her child. She was unaware fraudsters were using the code to channel illicit funds until police alerted her to 21 reports filed against her account.
“I only found out after police came to my house and told me that reports involving my account had been lodged in six states.
“I could not recall the transactions because I had already deleted the QR code that I had shared earlier,” she said.
She explained that several individuals had previously contacted her claiming they accidentally transferred excess funds via her QR code, asking her to transfer the surplus to a third-party account.
“I never kept the excess money; I transferred it back as requested,” she said.
As a result, she now faces court proceedings in multiple states over her involuntary involvement as a money mule.
She said her experience should serve as a warning to the public not to share payment QR codes without understanding how they may be misused.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old technician, Qushairi, said he lost RM6,000 after scanning a QR code provided by an individual who claimed it was part of a sales campaign on an e-commerce platform.
He was promised a 10% cashback after making the transaction, but was subsequently given various excuses when he asked for his money to be returned.
A 37-year-old housewife, Hasnah, also shared her experience after scanning a QR code on social media while she was in need of money to buy groceries.
She became suspicious after being asked to enter her phone number and a verification code, before discovering an attempt had been made to log into her social media account from another location.
“After I was asked to log into my social media account and provide a TAC (Transaction Authorisation Code), I hesitated,” she said.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa warned that being tech-savvy does not guarantee immunity from fraud.
“Key risk factors include failing to recognise that QR codes conceal destinations, placing undue trust in strangers and neglecting to verify recipient details,” he said.
