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Can someone put a fake QR code over mine?

Yes, it's technically easy. Police and agencies have mainly warned about parking meters and charging stations. A quick morning check is enough for you.

NFC and QR2 min readUpdated 2 November 2026NFCeez editorial team

How big is the risk in a restaurant?

Small, but not zero. German broadcaster hessenschau reports police warnings: criminals cover real codes at parking meters and charging stations, and the fake one opens a convincing page that takes card details. The US agency, the FTC, describes the same thing for parking meters.

It pays for criminals there, because people are ready to pay anyway. A menu doesn't ask for money, which makes it a weaker target. We found no officially reported case from a restaurant. That doesn't mean it has never happened. Technically it's as easy for your table as for a meter.

What should you check each day?

A two-minute round before openingRun a finger over every code: can you feel a second edge? Does it look different from yesterday? Spot-scan one code by the door and one at the back. Does the address lead to your real page?

Make it part of setting the tables. If you pass every seat anyway, you'll quickly notice a sticker that doesn't belong. Police advise people not to scan visibly stuck-on codes, so your own code should never look like a patch on a patch.

How do you make it harder for fakers?

  • Say openly that the menu never takes payment. Anyone asked for card details there will get suspicious.
  • Use an address that shows your name. According to the report, a German consumer centre advises scanning only when you can see where the code leads.
  • Place codes where your team can see them, and not outdoors where anyone can get at them at night.
  • The same goes for NFC: someone can stick a foreign NFC sticker over yours too. For choosing between the two, see NFC or QR code, and for placing them, NFC stickers for restaurants.

What do you do if you find one?

  1. Photograph the code and note the table and time before you remove it.
  2. Check all your other codes straight away.
  3. Report it to the police.
  4. Tell guests who were there during that time, as far as you can reach them, for example through your social media.

What's the quickest way to check your own stickers?

With NFCeez NFC stickers, the tap and the QR code lead to your Smart Page at nfceez.de followed by your business name. You connect each sticker to your business in the app and test it there before it goes on a table. On your morning round, one scan is then enough: if your page opens, the sticker is yours. Nobody pays there, because NFCeez takes no payments. The limit: it can't stop someone sticking a fake over yours. You still need the look as you set the tables.

What do you do from tomorrow?

Your next step: add the two-minute round to your opening checklist tomorrow morning.

How NFCeez does thisOne scan shows the sticker is still yours.Every sticker leads to your Smart Page under your own name. You test it in the app before it goes down, and nobody ever pays there.See how it works
Sources
  1. hessenschau: Polizei warnt vor Quishing
  2. FTC: Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes

Questions about fake QR codes

  1. By visibly stuck-on edges and an unfamiliar address. Police say not to scan codes that have been stuck over.

  2. The FTC warns a code can lead to sites that install malware. The code is only the route to a link, and the risk lies on the page behind it.

  3. A foreign sticker can be placed over either. The same quick check applies to NFC.

  4. That depends on the case. Keep photos, report it to the police, and ask your chamber of commerce (IHK) if damage has been done.

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