The agency in charge of Montreal's parking meters is warning of potentially fraudulent QR codes posted on its signs.

Your Android or iPhone can probably already scan QR codes. Here's how to do it no matter what phone you have.

A phone camera or other scanning device can read the information in a QR code, with the help of the three finder patterns at the corners: They tell the scanner where the QR code is, how big it is ...

Some developers would lead you to believe you need to download their app to scan QR codes. Spoiler: Your phone can do that with built-in features.

They make life easier by letting you access links, download files, or make payments with just a quick scan. But what if the QR code you need to scan is on your phone itself?

How the scam works Mr Chua said that when the victim scans the QR code, he is prompted to download an app containing malware and is made to grant access to the phone’s microphone and camera.