Increasingly scammers are using fake QR codes to steal data or money, new figures from the Belgian economy ministry show. Also among scammers the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise. The data that fraudsters extract thanks to AI, they then use to gain your trust even more easily. Their aim: to defraud you.
For years now phishing has been a well-documented phenomenon. Scammers try to rip you off by using dodgy links in emails. "Smishing" is scamming via text message and "vishing" is when scammers simply give you a bell.
Relatively new on the list is "quishing". Scammers send potential victims fake QR codes in e-mails, texts or a WhatsApp messages. They pretend the message comes from an official body and encourage you to pay an outstanding fine or bill using the code. Scammers can also manipulate QR codes posted to you in a letter on paper.
When you scan a rogue QR code, you can end up on a dodgy website and be asked to make a payment. Sometimes the codes are also used to install malicious software on the victim's device. In that way, your personal data, such as passwords, can be stolen. And then the problems begin!
Customised scams thanks to artificial intelligence
Once a criminal gets hold of certain personal information or even your login details, he or she can use it as part of "social engineering". This is the technique when scammers use stolen data to target you even more personally and succeed in tricking you as a result. They may send you fake invoices or tax demands that look very realistic simply because they appear to be really customised.
To achieve this, scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence. This technology allows them to draft fraudulent messages that look pretty genuine. This makes it even more difficult for you and me to detect rogue messages.
The economy minister warns that stolen data are kept in databases for years, allowing scammers to contact you long after you passed on the personal data.
Far fewer reports though
Remarkably enough, fewer people reported scams in 2023. In 2022 there were 1,059 reports, by last year their number had almost halved to 597 reports.
The ministry only registers reports of phishing when a victim has lost money. The average amount people lost to scammers also dropped from €4,678 in 2022 to €4,080 last year.
"It is encouraging to see that the number of reports of phishing attacks had dropped by almost half by 2023 and that the financial losses suffered are decreasing," says economy minister Pierre-Yves Demargne (Francophone socialist/PS).
As a result of awareness campaigns citizens have become far more vigilant but the economic inspectorate's targeted approach in combating phishing is also bearing fruit, Mr Demargne insists. "Still, the problem has not disappeared and tackling phishing remains a priority."
Less through electronic means
Even more striking in the figures is the large drop in phishing via electronic means. In 2020 and 2021, the vast majority of reports were still about scams via SMS texts, messaging apps and e-mails. By 2023, these methods accounted for barely 36 per cent of the total number of reports of scams.