Meanings
- uncountablecomputer securityPhishing by means of a QR code (to link to a malicious site, compromise a user account, etc.).
Quishing allowed hackers to exfiltrate data from his bank accounts.
2 more examples
The US Federal Trade Commission, as well as multiple local authorities across the UK, also warned this year about a specific kind of “quishing” scam targeting drivers, including cases where stickers directing users to fraudulent sites have been placed on top of legitimate QR codes used to pay for parking.
2024 October 27, Stephanie Stacey, “Banks and regulators warn of rise in ‘quishing’ QR code scams”, in The Financial TimesMicrosoft said the WhatsApp campaign appeared to have been wound down in November but the shift in tactics by Star Blizzard underlined the unit’s tenacity in using spear phishing – the term for targeting specific individuals or groups with malicious emails – to try to access sensitive information. The increasingly popular practice of using QR codes by cybercriminals is called “quishing” among the cybersecurity community.
2025 January 17, Dan Milmo, “Russian hackers target WhatsApp accounts of ministers worldwide”, in The Guardian
Origin
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 二維碼釣魚 /二维码钓鱼
- 二維碼釣魚 /二维码钓鱼 (èrweímǎ diàoyú)text message scam
Japanese クイッシング
- クイッシング (kuisshingu)text message scam
Korean 퀴싱
- 퀴싱 (kwising)text message scam
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with quishing
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
quishing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quishing
“quishing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quishing. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quishing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quishing.
Source: quishing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.