The shopping center in Itis may have come across special announcements. In the end, the truth came out quite quickly.
Shopping center Itis may have come across special announcements about Mati and Laura. We found out what it’s all about. Reader’s photo, Jani Korpela
Iltalehti’s reader sent a photo of a special ad he came across in the Itis shopping center in Helsinki.
– Matti, I know you’re cheating on me with Laura. The pictures don’t lie. Everyone needs to know what kind of cheater you are, says the English announcement signed by the name brand DT.
In addition to the text, the announcement has no other content than a large QR code that is made to be scanned with the phone’s camera.
According to the reader, notices were posted in several places.
Guerrilla marketing
A quick check reveals that the QR code in the ad leads to a website that refers to a company called Dancecovery.
In January, the company is launching a service designed to make it easier to find a suitable Dance Studio or dance teacher. On the website, the visitor is offered the opportunity to join the waiting list in order to be among the first to hear about the launch of the application.
The website hints that by investing in the hobby of dancing, you can make your ex-spouse regret the breakup, but otherwise the drama between Mati, his spouse and Laura seems fake.
Be careful with QR codes
Although in this case it does not seem to be a scam, but only an ingenious marketing gimmick, you should always treat QR codes posted in public places or unexpectedly sent by e-mail with caution.
Although QR codes are an easy and increasingly common way to present information in a concise and machine-readable format, they can also be used for malicious purposes.
The codes are meant to be scanned with a smartphone, and they typically lead to a web page. The person scanning the code should assess the need for scanning the code and whether it is a genuine operator’s code.
We previously told about the Mart who visited Rusta, who scanned the QR code in the store to become a regular customer of the company. However, the code led to a scam website imitating Rusta’s pages.
Also in Tampere, a leaflet was recently distributed with a QR code that led to a strange page.
Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom’s Cyber Security Center has urged to make sure before scanning a code placed in a public place, that one code has not, for example, been pasted on top of another.
Even the police have come to the attention of cases in which Finns’ online banking credentials and card information have been stolen with the help of QR codes leading to scam websites.
Škoda, among others, has recently resorted to guerilla marketing.
Unauthorized
Iltalehti is told about the communication of Kauppakeskus Itis that home-made advertisements about Mati and Laura have been posted without permission.
– Itis maintenance and guards have been instructed to remove all unauthorized stickers, tapings and posters without delay. We do our best to prevent this kind of activity, Itis’ marketing and PR manager Johanna Tolppola says Iltalehte.
– Our customers can report similar observations to Itis’ information point, he mentions.