In Almaty, police detained a woman who, according to police, was posting stickers advertising a drug store at a bus stop. She had already placed four stickers with QR codes, the Almaty Police Department reported. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The detained woman was found to have another 116 stickers, two packets of a powdered substance, and a mobile phone.
"A criminal case has been opened on this fact. The seized substances have been sent for examination. An investigation is underway. The suspect has been taken into custody. Police urge citizens not to scan suspicious QR codes and to report such stickers to the police," the department said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs warned that fraudsters in Kazakhstan had begun replacing QR codes at bus stops and in entrances, on advertising stands, and in other public places. Criminals stick their QR codes over the real ones or place them next to announcements and advertisements. After scanning, the user is taken to a fake website that may look like an official service or payment page.
The detention was filmed and published on the Instagram account of the Almaty Police Department (@almaty.police). Police urge citizens not to scan suspicious QR codes and to report such stickers to law enforcement.