{Warning}: Fake Bitcoin QR Code Generators

[Baofeng]

A few day ago: I posted this on @DroomieChikito's thread here. However, I think to reach a wider audience, I will just put in here so that many newbies and beginners are not going to fall for this kind of trick. Yes, this is an old gimmick, but we need reinforcement.

The btc address had so far scammed BTC 4.92027458.

Code:

343CXYVBKXT2VgELCdjEeMyPpfiKwkzUNg

1.

Code:

http://bitcoin-barcode-generator.com/

2.

Code:

http://btc-to-qr.com/

3.

Code:

http://freebitcoinqrcodes.com/

4.

Code:

http://qr-code-bitcoin.com/

[1715180735]

1715180735

[asu]

This is for those lazy that want a qr code before sending some bitcoins. You can find your bitcoin QR code in blockchain.com, input your bitcoin address there, and hola save the qr code. But always check first the bitcoin address before sending.

Or either a clicable one;

bitcoin:<input btc address here>

i.e: bitcoin:3ByTmVLLd6hrjtT6trwG9C1aziEmbTkZAH

[NeuroticFish]

The play store is full of barcode and QR code readers. If one wants to have a nice QR code, it's not that difficult to install 1-2 such readers and test it out, instead of blindly trust others.
Also seeing a bitcoin specific QR generator should be quite an alarm. General purpose QR generators should be just fine (you may put bitcoin: in front of the address, but on https://bitcoin.org/ they don't even put that).

[sujonali1819]

That means these are the fake bitcoin code generator sites that are provided in the OP.

I am agreed with what @asu said. It's really for a lazy user. The user should recheck the bitcoin address atleast 1 time before sending the fund. I am always trying to send any funds directly to the address without the help of any code scanner.

But again if anybody needs to scan any address then they should download the best code scanner from playstore/ AppStore what  NeuroticFish said previously. And it also right that most of the smartphones have a default code scanner nowadays.

[NotATether]

Electrum, bitcoin core and most webwallets already make a QR code for you to scan when you want to send bitcoins. They already have this feature built-in and there is absolutely no reason to use a web service to generate them. I don't understand why people are flocking to these websites when there is already one in their wallet software.

This entire scam reeks of gullibility. It literally says "enter your bitcoin address and the qr-codes will automatically be generated" to which address? QR codes are requests to send bitcoins to another address so it is abundantly clear that the receiving address belongs to a hacker. I can't believe people would fall for this.

[sheenshane]

Thank you for the heads up here it is really helpful for those newbies that didn't familiar with QR code.

Correct, lazy or naive users will always be a victim on this kind of fraud and most likely they are newbies on cryptocurrency.
If you are going to search on google, there are too many articles stating about QR code scam and how they do it. Just like this online article, 4 of 5 Bitcoin QR Code Generators Are Complete Scams.. You can always use a site that well known and trusted block explorer.

IMO, I never use QR code because it's pretty easy to fake QR code and replace the sending address to scammers if you don't have a final check on the sending address.

[TheBeardedBaby]

Damn, just tried one to see what will happens. Those websites should be reported and taken down!!
I also thought that using a random QR Code reader on the mobile is very unsafe. Luckily I have my post app which have a barcode/QR code reader, I can trust it a bit more then the rest of the scanners and it works perfectly even with a data matrix codes

[jseverson]

Damn, just tried one to see what will happens. Those websites should be reported and taken down!!

We could try having them delisted off search engines. Google doesn't list it, Yahoo shows it at the top(!), and both Duckduckgo and Bing list it second. Either way, a lot of the results seem scammy to me; this should be a built in feature for any wallet after all so there shouldn't be any demand for external services. Anyway, we may as well report them:

Here's how to report to Microsoft (Microsoft account needed)

For Duckduckgo, you simply send an email:

If you find any malware, phishing, or suspicious-looking websites or ads on DuckDuckGo, report them at abuse@duckduckgo.com.

I also tried reporting it to Yahoo, but I can't seem get it to work. Maybe others can try it instead, but it also seems like you'd need a Yahoo account.

[Lucius]

Electrum, bitcoin core and most webwallets already make a QR code for you to scan when you want to send bitcoins. They already have this feature built-in and there is absolutely no reason to use a web service to generate them. I don't understand why people are flocking to these websites when there is already one in their wallet software.

This entire scam reeks of gullibility. It literally says "enter your bitcoin address and the qr-codes will automatically be generated" to which address? QR codes are requests to send bitcoins to another address so it is abundantly clear that the receiving address belongs to a hacker. I can't believe people would fall for this.

It's really hard to figure out what an individual thinks when they use an unreliable page to generate QR codes for their BTC address, and at the same time they get it automatically in almost every desktop/mobile or hardware wallet

Almost 5 BTC is gifted in this way, so it's more than obvious that the thing really works, much to the delight of those who enjoy something that can be called easy money. All of this really shows us the enormous level of ignorance in which a fair number of those who are somehow involved in crypto live today.

[LbtalkL]

Everyone should not use any online QR generators our wallets have that feature there is no need to search on google for these QR code generators. Also, blockchain block explorer will automatically generate QR code for our addresses. I can't think of why someone is looking for 3rd party QR code generators.
If you really want to use a 3rd party website scan it first and verify if its really your address before sending it to someone.

[Bitcoadvice]

The alleged operator known as "icryptofbi" on BitcoinTalk and "cryptofbi007" involved in these cryptocurrency QR code scam phishing crimes was exposed in detail in the following BitcoinTalk topic:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5475430.0