Question 1

What are the risks of scanning a QR code?

Accepted Answer

A QR code is simply an encoded string — most often a URL — and the risk is that **you cannot read it before you act on it**. That single property is what makes the format attractive to fraudsters.

**The core problem.** A printed or displayed link shows you where it goes; a QR code shows you nothing. You are trusting whoever placed the code, and verification happens only after your camera has already resolved it.

**The main attacks:**

**Quishing** (QR phishing). A code leading to a convincing fake login page — bank, parcel delivery, parking. Because the code arrives by email or on a physical sign, it bypasses email link filtering, which is precisely why attackers moved to it.

**Sticker overlays.** Malicious codes printed on stickers and placed over legitimate ones. This has been widely documented on **parking meters**, EV chargers, restaurant table codes and public information signs, and it is effective because the surrounding context looks entirely genuine.

**Payment redirection**, sending money to the wrong recipient.

**Non-URL payloads.** Codes can encode Wi-Fi credentials (joining you to a hostile network), contact details, calendar entries, or app deep links triggering actions.

**Malicious app downloads**, particularly on Android where sideloading is possible.

**Tracking.** Legitimate codes frequently carry campaign parameters and unique identifiers, so scanning is logged.

**Practical precautions:**

**Check the URL preview** your camera shows before tapping. Modern phones display it; read it rather than tapping reflexively. Look at the actual **domain**, not the words around it.

**Inspect physical codes** for stickers applied over the original — a raised edge or a mismatched print is the tell.

**Never enter credentials or payment details** on a page reached from a scanned code; navigate to the site independently instead.

**Be suspicious of unsolicited codes** arriving by post, email or on a windscreen.

**Keep the phone updated**, since some risks depend on browser vulnerabilities.

Question 2

How do QR codes encode data?

Accepted Answer

As a two-dimensional pattern of black and white squares read as binary, with substantial built-in error correction — which is why a code still scans when damaged, partially covered or printed over a

Question 3

How can I tell if an email is a phishing attempt?

Accepted Answer

Modern phishing is well written and often visually indistinguishable from the real thing, so advice based on spotting bad spelling is out of date. The reliable signals are structural rather than

Question 4

What is a cookie banner legally required to do?

Accepted Answer

Obtain valid consent before storing or accessing non-essential information on a device — and most cookie banners do not meet the standard, which is why regulators across Europe have issued repeated

Question 5

What is a digital identity wallet?

Accepted Answer

An application holding verifiable credentials — cryptographically signed statements about you issued by a trusted body — that you present selectively, without the verifier needing to contact the

Question 6

What is two-factor authentication and which method is most secure?

Accepted Answer

Two-factor authentication requires something beyond your password, so a stolen password alone is not enough. The methods differ considerably in how much protection they actually provide, and they are

Question 7

Are electronic signatures legally valid?

Accepted Answer

In most jurisdictions yes, for the great majority of documents — the law generally does not require a handwritten signature, and the practical question is evidential: can you prove who signed, that

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