This guide is educational, not personalized financial, legal or security advice. A checklist reduces avoidable mistakes; it cannot make a transaction risk-free.
Illustrative only: the QR motif is not scannable, and payment fields vary by network, request and wallet. A scan is not approval or proof of payment.
- Treat the QR as data, not proof of who supplied it.
- Read the wallet’s actual network, destination, asset and amount; fields vary.
- Compare with instructions obtained separately through a trusted route.
- If anything differs, is missing or feels unclear, decline and verify.
The wallet shows a different recipient from the shop’s separately checked instructions. What is the safe next step?
A QR code carries data, not trust
A QR code is a way to carry data. Depending on the network and wallet, it may contain a payment request or open a website. Examples include Bitcoin's BIP 321 URI format, Ethereum's ERC-681 transaction-request URLs, and Solana Pay transfer requests. These formats differ; a QR image itself does not prove who supplied it or whether its details are still the ones you intended. The FTC documents QR codes that open spoofed websites; that is a known risk, not a verdict about any particular code.
Inspect what your wallet decoded
Before approving, compare the wallet's actual request with instructions you obtained separately: the network, full recipient or destination, asset, amount, and any fee, memo or reference the wallet shows. Fields vary by network, request and wallet; an amount may be absent or prefilled. A familiar label or logo is not independent proof of the recipient.
If the code opens a website, check the exact domain before you log in or connect a wallet. Leave if the address or request is unexpected. Do not enter a password, recovery phrase or private key into a site reached through an unverified QR link.
Compare through a separate trusted route
Do not use the QR code itself as the source that verifies its own destination. Get the recipient's current instructions from a channel you already trust. If any shown detail differs, is missing, or does not make sense, decline the request and confirm the change through a separately verified contact route. Bitcoin's payment URI guidance requires user authorization, and ERC-681 describes a request that the authenticated user still confirms; scanning is not the same as paying.
Practise without sending crypto
At a fictional shop counter, a sticker covers the shop's original payment code. After scanning, the wallet shows a recipient that does not match the shop's independently verified instructions. The safe next step is to decline and confirm the destination with the shop through a known contact route—not to rely on the nearby logo, a queue, or a countdown.
A scan does not establish that a payment was sent or credited. If you choose to transfer after checking the request, follow the separate asset, network and recipient checks. For lookalike destinations in transaction history, read address poisoning.
Check your understanding.
A wallet request shows a different recipient from the shop's separately verified instructions. What should you do?
A correct answer records local learning progress, not a qualification or proof of financial readiness.
Put this lesson in context
Work through the asset, network and destination checks, then learn to interpret a transaction result.
Sources & context
- Federal Trade Commission — Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal your information ↗Consulted 2026-10-11
- Bitcoin Improvement Proposals — BIP 321: URI Scheme ↗Consulted 2026-10-11
- Ethereum Improvement Proposals — ERC-681: URL Format for Transaction Requests ↗Consulted 2026-10-11
- Solana Documentation — Solana Pay Transfer Requests ↗Consulted 2026-10-11
- ethereum.org — Security and scam prevention ↗Consulted 2026-10-11
Original educational content prepared for this project. Sources provide context, not endorsement or a guarantee that every statement remains current. Rules, product interfaces and availability can change.
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