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submitted 1 day ago by cypherpunks@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/47972724

i encountered this for the first time today while attempting to read something on archive.today.

i confirmed that decoding the qrcode using a computer and following the URL it contains is insufficient; the error it gave directed me here which is what the linked screenshot is of.

the old type of captcha remains available too, for now:

screenshot of text: Important: Mobile verification for Google Cloud Fraud Defense is an experimental challenge type in Preview. Visual and audio challenges are available as alternatives for users who can't complete mobile verification. To use them, click the Visual  or Audio  buttons.

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[-] BillCheddar@lemmy.world 7 points 15 hours ago

...just use a different website?

[-] calmblue75@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago

As easy as eating cake.

[-] motruck@lemmy.zip 7 points 15 hours ago

Everyone needs to fail the test over and over again until they fall back to their non-we want to fuck everyone over even more world.

[-] WhyDoYouThinkThat@lemmy.world 14 points 18 hours ago

to prove you're human, enter your credit card number

[-] ghodawalaaman@programming.dev 1 points 2 hours ago

your pin, cvv and expiry date too, which confirms you are actually human

[-] itsjustachairmary@lemmy.world 11 points 18 hours ago

I got one of these. They had accessibility options so I just did the auditory one. It says a couple words, you write them out, and you're done. Like hell am I using a Phone for this shit.

[-] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 18 hours ago

Nah. Block all fingerprinting. You don't need any of this crap.

[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 11 points 20 hours ago

I still won't order online from a store that won't show me shipping cost without a full address and phone number. I'll give them the zip code, that's all they need, that's all they get before I decide.

[-] osanna@lemmy.vg 19 points 22 hours ago
[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago

This is the only way to stop it. We must refuse to use it. All they watch is the numbers.

I bought a thing from Walmart using pickup for the first time, because the thing was "low stock", and I didn't want to drive there if they didn't have it. I get the email that it's ready, and they want me to download their stupid app to confirm. Fuck that, I went to the store, knowing I had a backup option, and found the last one of the thing on the shelf and bought that instead. Although, apparently the sign at the parking spot has a phone number you can call to let them know you've arrived--no mention of that option in the email.

[-] curious_dolphin@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 hours ago

Walmart's curbside pickup workflow can be done entirely within the mobile site, even the arrival/parking step (w/o having to call the number).

[-] ef9357@lemmy.world 18 points 22 hours ago

Just another reason to not use Google.

[-] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago

LOL, fuck off. How about instead I move on to somewhere less hostile toward the user instead?

[-] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 7 points 20 hours ago

FWIW I've found passing it through my local SearxNG usually gives me a clean path to the content. But it's seriously worrying that some of the blocked content is publically available science (e.g. PMC Bioinformatics). But that should not be necessary, at this point a search engine should be a public resource. Fuck Google.

[-] 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com 29 points 1 day ago

We are making side loading harder because scammers are using "these" tactics to install malware on your devices.

It's totally fine when we use the same tactics to install malware on your device.

[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 9 points 21 hours ago

malware is bytecode Google didn't approve of. when google spies on you, that's just "legitimate interest"

[-] Renat@szmer.info 60 points 1 day ago

I once saw fake captcha scam that reuired scaning QR code to infect device. It looks exactly like that.

[-] lemmylump@lemmy.world 7 points 21 hours ago

I once made QR code stickers that placed people on a website warning them to stop trusting QR codes.

I spent a year traveling and everywhere I saw a QR code my sticker QR code went over it.

You target the right locations and spoof the website and you can get credit card, phone, email, address. Svan this QR code for 20% off blah blah blah.

Do use them.

[-] Buckshot@programming.dev 2 points 20 hours ago

Noticed parking meters here have prominent labels now stating they do not use QR codes. I'm sure that's just providing the spot to put the scam QR code, but it's better than nothing.

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[-] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 63 points 1 day ago

Verifying you have a phone doesn't verify that you're human.

[-] IratePirate@feddit.org 15 points 1 day ago

Just like Recaptchas haven't been a challenge to bots for a long time. Still, we had to deal with this shit. Makes you wonder if it's just a stupid fucking pretext... 🤔

[-] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago

Isn't it training for AI and automated cars?

[-] IratePirate@feddit.org 5 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Used to be, yeah. But this part of computer vision has been a solved problem for a while now. Captchas still remained for the sole purpose of annoying the living fuck out of people like you and me. Well, until Google figured out Captchas could be weaponised for (gestures) whatever this is.

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[-] antonim@lemmy.world 52 points 1 day ago
  1. Hype up AI.

  2. Everyone starts scraping the internet to obtain training data for their AI.

  3. To block the scrapers, countless sites implement stricter bot detection tools.

  4. The owners of the bot detection tools now effectively hold all of the internet by its throat, deciding who can access what and extorting more and more data from you to verify you're human.

Fucking genius.

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 3 points 21 hours ago
  1. Crypto comes out of nowhere with a steel chair and now we have to pay websites for access.
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[-] Etterra@discuss.online 32 points 1 day ago
[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 224 points 1 day ago
  1. People without a mobile device are fucked out of being able to pass a captcha

  2. As if this isn't a way for them to associate multiple sessions on multiple specific devices with one another, this is just another avenue for data collection, period. Hidden under the guise of "more secure."

[-] MrKoyun@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

It really should be illegal to build systems that require a user's access to any unrelated technology. You shouldn't be forced to have a phone to pay a parking fee or to get on the bus. You shouldn't need an app to charge your car. You shouldn't need to use proprietary software from one spesific company to pass a captcha on a random site.

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[-] RagingNerdoholic@lemmy.ca 30 points 1 day ago

Fuck absolutely everything about this.

[-] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 46 points 1 day ago

No malicious site would ever fake this kind of flow in order to get someone to scan a dangerous QR code. Nope, that would never happen.

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[-] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 42 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That's it. JavaScript was a mistake. Time to go back to HTML only pages

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 3 points 21 hours ago

obligatory NoScript advertisement

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[-] formlessoedon@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

On the bright side, this means they are really worried that privacy practices such as those popular among the Lemmy crowd can make their surveillance expensive or maybe even impractical at scale, rather than profitable. I'm never sure if it's working, with firmware and all. Almost a good sign? Am I deluded?

[-] tjoa@feddit.org 57 points 1 day ago

I know it has been said already but how stupid is it to teach users the pattern of randomly scanning QR codes. So ironic given that reCaptcha is for security in some sense.

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[-] DeuxChevaux@lemmy.world 117 points 1 day ago

Looks like a very good way to shoo actual humans off of your website.

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[-] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 41 points 1 day ago

Any website that chooses to use this service will simply not get my traffic. If enough people feel the same, those websites will lose clicks and eventually tell Google to pound sand.

Imagine the utter hubris on these fuckers to think that people will get a google device just to access a website.

Or to think that an average user sitting at home would run to another room to grab their phone so they can verify themselves on the desktop just to visit blackcougar.com

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[-] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 92 points 1 day ago

Nice captcha. Would be a shame if someone intentionally injected malicious code that had users scan a QR code under the guise of security.

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[-] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 72 points 1 day ago

There's no way this is ADA compliant.

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this post was submitted on 28 May 2026
514 points (99.2% liked)

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