Be Careful Sharing This Bar Code with Strangers. Or Else...

Earlier this month, a restaurant owner by the name of Ms. Zhou received a phone order for multiple items, to which she demanded the caller to use Alipay in order to pay for it.

While he said his Alipay account wouldn’t let him transfer money directly, he said he could use something else: a bar code.

He asked Ms. Zhou to share the number below her bar code over the phone, and after hanging up, not only did the restaurant owner not receive her money, but she saw a whopping 999 yuan taken out of her account!

The reason why Ms. Zhou was cheated is because she failed to distinguish the difference between a "payment code" and "collection code", which gave the fraudster an opportunity to take advantage of her easily.

So what do the two codes we use every day actually look like?

Alipay

WeChat

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The payment code is made up of a QR code and bar code with 18 digits, which can be used to scan and exchange money for transactions. 

In the above mentioned case, the fraudster obtained Ms. Zhou's 18-digit payment number and was able to forge a bar code with technical means and a scanning code processor to complete the scanning code payment.

Barcode generator processor

The reason is that the fraudster transferred the money without verifying any information, because Ms. Zhou, like many consumers, used a"password-free payment” for a transaction of less than RMB 1,000”

And yesterday, Alipay Security Center released a special notice on the matter, which reads as follows:

“Payment codes are a commonly used method to receive and transfer money. However, whether it is through Alipay or WeChat Pay, users may be subject to frauds and scams if they reveal their information (via screen captures or numbers). As such, we have implemented 3 new policies to improve security: (1) Payment codes are now updated every minute; (2) screen captures are disabled for Android users (iPhones prompt a reminder); and (3) the digital code comes with a pop-up page to send a reminder.

To prevent such fraudulent activities from happening in the first place:

1. Do not voluntarily reveal your barcode serial number;

2. Use payment confirmation codes with a security lock.

3. Carefully open the QR code generated for your payment

Source: weibo@Alipay 

Editor: Crystal Huang

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