Tag: mobile technology

Mobile commerce may be dangerous during the holidays

| November 30, 2012

 

mobile commerce holiday shoppingHoliday shopping season highlights dangers of mobile commerce

The holiday season has only just begun, but mobile commerce is already experiencing major success. Consumers are flocking to the concept of using their mobile devices to make purchases and shop for products. Indeed, mobile commerce had a powerful showing on Thanksgiving day and Black Friday, accounting for billions worth of sales. Though consumers have shown major interest in mobile commerce, they may be making some simple mistakes that could be putting their financial information at risk.

Consumers warned to be cautious in December

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection notes that more consumers are making use of their mobile devices to make holiday shopping more convenient. These consumers could be at risk of falling victim to scams and hacking attempts, if they are not careful. The agency has issued a warning to holiday shoppers to be careful during December in an effort to ensure consumers take adequate steps to protect themselves.

Scams can easily take advantage of unaware consumers

The agency suggests that a growing number of mobile e-commerce scams could be putting consumers at risk of exploitation. Such scams are relatively common during the holiday season, but e-commerce and mobile commerce platforms are ideal disguises for such fraudulent activities. The Department of Consumer Protection suggests that it can be easy for some consumers to miss the signs of a scam during the holiday season because they are distracted. Moreover, malicious mobile sites could house malware that can infect a mobile device and leave a consumer’s financial information exposed.

Mobile apps could help protect devices from attacks

The growing popularity of mobile commerce may raise awareness of the security precautions that consumers can take to protect themselves. There are several anti-virus and anti-malware applications available for both Android and iOS platforms that can protect a device from malicious attacks. These applications do not mitigate scams, however, so consumers are advised to pay close attention to the mobile commerce and e-commerce platforms they choose to use during the holiday season.

Scan reaches major milestone with QR codes

| November 30, 2012

 

QR Codes Scan ResearchScan delivers 25 million copies of its software

Despite reports that QR codes are unpopular amongst consumers and are diminishing in popularity, Scan, leading barcode scanner makers, has announced that its scanning application of the same name have been downloaded 25 million times. The company is now offering version 2.0 of its software, which provides a number of new features that are meant to make consumers more interested in scanning QR codes and other barcodes. As in previous versions of the software, Scan touts simplicity as the best way to provide service to consumers.

Software allows consumers to scan various types of barcodes

The new version of Scan is simple to use; users only need to point their mobile device at a QR code or other barcode and the application will do the rest of the work. The scanner recognizes QR, UPC, EAN, and ISBN codes and is available for the iPad Mini and the iPhone 5. The software can even make use of a device’s flash to allow its camera to scan codes in the dark.

Platform can help businesses keep track of QR codes

Scan has been growing steadily for more than a year. The company was founded in 2011 and was able to raise more than $1.7 million in financing earlier this year. Scan provides numerous services based on QR codes, such as code generation for websites, business cards, and billboards. Businesses can use the Scan platform to keep track of the performance of the QR codes they use, allowing them to tweak the reach of their marketing campaigns to better suit the demographic that is using their codes the most.

QR codes growing in popularity as mobile commerce devices

Scan notes that it processes more than 27 million codes every month. This suggests that QR codes are much more popular than some might believe. The codes have been gaining momentum as a mobile commerce tool, which may be part of the reason why they have been seeing more use in recent months. Retailers, in particular, are showing interest in QR codes because of their potential use as a sales mechanism for mobile consumers.