For several days in Paris, but also in Berlin and Amsterdam, a QR Code has invited passers-by to share their personal data on a site. A practice strongly discouraged.
Who is behind the site called “whathappensat1000000000?” (“what happens to a billion?”). For several days, a poster campaign in Paris and other European cities, including Berlin and Amsterdam, has been questioning Internet users, as spotted by the specialized site Numerama. The posters invite passers-by to scan a QR Code, then register on a site to collect a 5 euro voucher on Paypal.
Beware of scams
To receive this 5 euro voucher, you must register your email with a code which appears randomly on the site, and valid until the amount associated with each code is exhausted – which is renewed every two hours.
A practice that is nevertheless widely discouraged: QR Code scams in the street, intended to direct victims to scam sites collecting their personal data, are increasing. Scanning a QR Code of unknown origin is therefore rarely a good idea.
Furthermore, giving your email address to anyone is also not recommended, especially if it is an email linked to a Paypal account. Even if the operation is not a scam but a marketing operation for any company, the site does not request any authorization to use your contact details for commercial communications. Again, a bad signal.
A company behind the operation?
This experiment, which must end on November 14 at 4 p.m., says nothing about its origin or its objectives. As Numerama points out, it only targets the European continent. It is not available in the United States or the United Kingdom.
On Reddit, amateur investigators nevertheless noticed that the font used on the confirmation email turns out to be the same as that of Trade Republic, a site specializing in various investments (stocks or cryptocurrencies).
Contacted by Tech&Co, a spokesperson for Trade Republic told us “they cannot communicate on this operation”, not wishing to confirm or deny the company’s involvement. Without, however, denying it.
Another clue: this site is mentioned by an influencer specializing in financial investments and cryptocurrencies, Romain Lanéry. On Twitter, he presents himself as an “ambassador” of the company Trade Republic. Contacted by Tech&Co regarding the promotional status of his publication (which is not specified), he has not yet responded.
In the absence of formal confirmation on the origin of this operation, and faced with the temptation to easily obtain a transfer of five euros, it remains highly recommended not to share your personal data with the site in question. Whether it’s a scam, or a marketing operation aimed at collecting email addresses.
