First, do not panic
A fake ATM overlay involves a QR code placed on or near a cash machine that pretends to help you: verify your card, unlock the machine, or report a problem. The code leads to a page that harvests card or account details.
If you already scanned, the next few minutes matter more than the scan itself. What you do now can limit the damage, and most of the steps below take only a few minutes each.
Contain it right now
1. Do not enter card, PIN, or account details on the page.
2. If you entered card details, contact your card issuer at once and ask for the card to be blocked.
3. If you entered account credentials, change the password from a clean session.
4. Leave the machine and report it to the bank.
What to check next
- Check your bank statements for unfamiliar withdrawals or transactions.
- Report the overlay to the bank and to local police.
- Keep a photo of the machine and the QR code if it is safe to take one.
- Warn others not to use that machine until it has been checked.
Reporting helps the next person
Reporting is not just paperwork. It helps the impersonated organisation warn other customers, helps platforms remove the fake page, and helps investigators connect one scam to others. Report promptly, and include the time, the place or message, and what you entered. You do not need to feel embarrassed about reporting. These scams are built to fool busy people, and a fast report protects everyone who comes after you.
Putting this into practice
Work through the steps in order: contain, check, then report. Start with the highest-risk exposure first. If money is involved, the bank comes before everything else. If credentials are involved, change the password from a clean session and review active sessions and linked devices. Write down what happened while it is fresh, including the page address, the payee name, and the time, because those details make reports and disputes easier.
Common mistakes to avoid
One mistake is trying to fix things by scanning the code again or following more links from the fake page. Another is assuming nothing happened because nothing looks wrong yet. A third is delaying the report out of embarrassment, which gives the attacker more time to use what was taken. Act on the exposure you had, not on whether you can see damage yet.
Quick checklist
- Close the fake page and do not follow further links from it.
- Change any exposed password from a clean session.
- Review active sessions, linked devices, and recent activity.
- Contact your bank at once if money or card details were involved.
- Report the code to the impersonated organisation and the platform.
- Keep a written record of what happened and when.
Related tools and guides
- Run the destination through the [QR checksum generator](/qr-checksum-generator) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Inspect the code with the [QR payload inspector](/qr-payload-inspector) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Check the address with the [QR offline verifier](/qr-offline-verifier) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Practise spotting patterns with the [QR batch validator](/qr-batch-validator) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Review the chain with the [QR scanner](/qr-scanner) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Keep a record with the [printed QR tester](/printed-qr-tester) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Plan protection with the [UTM builder](/utm-builder) before you trust a code you did not expect.
- Run the destination through the [blog](/blog) before you trust a code you did not expect.
