In Madison’s hot property market, rental scams are nothing new. But there’s been an increasingly common twist that’s catching some renters off-guard. QR codes – the blocks of black and white squares that our cell phones can easily translate into web links – are more frequently being used legitimately by property companies and landlords. However, some bad actors are using similar QR codes to connect unsuspecting renters to their own fraudulent sites. Often, these false sites mimic the real ones. Their goal: collect some form of payment, like a deposit or rental fee, as quickly as possible. If the scam goes undetected, the fraudster can continue using the provided financial information for additional unauthorized transactions.
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