It would have been so easy for the article to state upfront that QR codes are URLs coded as a monochrome patterns of squares. Scanning a QR code is like clicking on that URL. Nothing more, nothing less.

So users that scan a QR code have to be concerned like anyone clicking on a link. It has positives and negatives just like links. Nothing new there. I am just surprised that specialist companies have sprung up that capitalize on that simple idea.