Innovative QR Code System for Tamper-Proof Generation and Fraud-Resistant Verification

Barcode technology is widely used as an automated identification system that enables rapid and efficient data capture, particularly in retail environments. Despite its practicality, barcode-based systems are increasingly vulnerable to security threats-most notably, barcode substitution fraud. To address these challenges, this paper presents an innovative system for the secure generation and verification of Quick Response (QR) codes using a digital watermarking technique. The proposed method embeds tamper-resistant information within QR codes, enhancing their integrity and making unauthorized modification more difficult. Additionally, a neural network-based authentication model was developed to verify the legitimacy of scanned QR codes. The system was evaluated through experimental testing on a dataset of 5000 QR samples. The results demonstrated high accuracy in distinguishing between genuine and fraudulent QR codes, confirming the system's effectiveness in supporting fraud prevention in real-world applications.