Recently Malwarebytes Labs researchers have been seeing quite a few phishing campaigns using QR codes in email attachments. The lure and the targets are varied, but the use of a QR code to get someone to visit the phishing site is fast becoming a preferred method for cybercriminals.
There are several reasons why cybercriminals might want to use QR codes:
- The QR code is likely to be scanned with a phone, which are often less well protected against malicious websites or even completely unprotected.
- Phones are also likely personal devices which provide attackers with a direct path to sensitive personal accounts. For example, banking apps will be often be installed on the same device.
Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labs
Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- Update Chrome to patch critical browser security flaws
June 25, 2026
Google released a security update for Chrome that fixes 18 vulnerabilities, including four rated Critical. There is no indication that any of these newly patched bugs are being actively exploited in the wild. The stable channel has been updated to 149.0.7827.196/197 for Windows and Mac and 149.0.7827.196 for Linux. The update will roll out over the coming days ...
- Almost half of ransomware victims have data stolen before they can even detect an intrusion
June 25, 2026
Criminals are getting better at hiding within their victims’ infrastructure, lurking and stealing files without triggering any alarms whatsoever. Earlier today, network detection and response experts ExtraHop released the “Global Threat Landscape Report”, based on a survey of more than 1,800 IT and security leaders worldwide. In it, it is said that roughly half (49%) of ...
- Global cyber strike disrupts SocGholish, Amadey, and StealC malware networks
June 24, 2026
Europol together with partners from across the globe today announces a landmark blow to cybercriminal networks as part of Operation Endgame, a sweeping international operation targeting the criminal infrastructure behind ransomware and malware like SocGholish, Amadey, and StealC. In coordinated actions over the past two weeks, key components of these malicious toolkits were dismantled as ...
- US healthcare AI platform Xsolis confirms data breach that affects 1.4 million individuals
June 23, 2026
Healthcare technology company Xsolis disclosed a cyberattack in which it lost sensitive data on almost 1.4 million customers. Xsolis is a company that uses AI to help healthcare organizations make faster and more consistent decisions about patient care and utilization management. Earlier this week, it published a data breach notification on its website, saying that it ...
- A VBScript campaign distributed through WhatsApp deploying RMM software
June 22, 2026
In June 2026, Kaspersky observed a malware campaign distributing malicious VBScript files through direct messages in WhatsApp. The campaign affected users across multiple countries and territories, including Malaysia, Brazil, India, Mexico, Singapore, UK, Spain, Taiwan, Australia, Russia and Vietnam, with the highest number of victims observed in Malaysia. At the time of writing this article, ...
- AI models capable of devastating attacks on governments and business months away
June 22, 2026
Powerful AI models capable of devastating new cyber attacks on governments and businesses are mere months away, intelligence agencies for the Five Eyes have warned in a rare joint statement, urging leaders to “act now”. The surprising public intervention by signals agencies for Australia, the US, the UK, New Zealand and Canada comes after the Trump administration ...