Check a QR code before you open it

No. It reads the address only, in your browser. Nothing is opened, looked up, or sent anywhere unless you choose Open link or one of the outside services.

Addresses that aren't encrypted (http:), bare number addresses, letters from other alphabets that imitate a familiar name, brand names spelled with lookalike characters (paypa1) or placed in front of another site, text before an @ that hides the real site, shortened links, dynamic QR code services, and pages that mention signing in or paying.

Read the site name, shown in large type. In "paypal.com.account-help.net" the site is account-help.net, not PayPal. Everything before it can be chosen by whoever registered that site.

Some QR sites make codes that point at their own short address and forward visitors to yours. If that subscription or trial ends, the code stops working or shows other content. The checker flags well-known forwarding addresses. A code that holds your own address keeps working as long as that page stays online.

Fake codes stuck over real ones on parking meters, chargers, and bills are a common scam. If a code asks you to pay, check the site name matches the operator printed on the sign, or pay in the operator's official app or website instead.

Not always. The checker looks for common tricks in the address, but a new scam site can have a plain-looking name. It can't see what the page does. For a second opinion, use the outside services listed under the result; clicking one sends the address to that service.

Yes. Codes that aren't links show what they hold, such as the network name, the contact's details, or who a payment goes to, with warnings when a payment code's check digits don't match.