CNET – Codes sent via SMS messages will be replaced by QR codes sent to user’s phones to verify Gmail accounts. Gmail users will soon see a big change in the way their accounts are secured and how their two-factor authenticated logins are handled. Google is planning to stop sending 2FA codes via text message to verify Gmail accounts in favor of security tools such as passkeys and QR codes that users would scan with their devices. Google is finding that using SMS messaging for 2FA has become increasingly problematic as scammers and fraudsters use the technology to spoof user accounts. The news was first reported by Forbes…According to Richendrfer, over the next few months, Google will be “reimagining” how the company verifies phone numbers. Gmail and other Google services will shift from texting six-digit codes over SMS to sending a QR code that a user would verify. The goal would be to eliminate instances of users sharing their SMS code with a scammer who has tricked them, and eliminating phone carriers as a possible point of breach. Some scammers, Google says, use SMS messages for a scam called “traffic pumping” that allows them to get paid for SMS messages.”