Have you just bought an electric car and feel the joy of a public charging station? In addition to paying attention to the billing and reliability of these terminals, you will soon also have to be on the lookout for a new scam that has been going on for several weeks.

There’s really not much you can do about it other than avoid the relevant terminals. In fact, in some public terminals that don’t have a physical credit card payment terminal, you have to scan a QR code, which will then take you to an app to pay for your top-up.

Beware of fake QR codes on terminals

We know a simpler process, especially since it faces many problems. In addition to various errors of all kinds directly related to the operator, fraudsters have come up with the idea of ​​hijacking this system by inserting a fake QR code on top of the real one displayed on the terminal. Simple and effective, you don’t even need to hack the app!

This trick was discovered by our colleagues at La République du Centre, who spotted pots of roses at a public terminal in Loris, a village in the Loire.

How to check?

Fortunately, the few users who were scammed did not lose large sums, according to the village council. The terminal has been deactivated and the fake QR code has been removed. Undoubtedly, this terminal is not an isolated case.

In order not to be deceived, therefore, carefully check whether the site to which the QR code takes you is really associated with the terminal operator. Otherwise, choose terminals with a credit card payment terminal, even if they are too rare.

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