Urgent warning over QR code scam tricking drivers out of £100s at popular car park – spot the signs
DRIVERS have been warned of a QR code scam that can potentially trick car owners out of hundreds of pounds at a popular car park.
Residents in Suffolk have been urged to be extra vigilant after a recent parking scam was discovered at the Ipswich Street car park in Stowmarket.
The scam works when the code is scanned and takes users to a fake website – which drivers then unknowingly enter their card details into to pay for parking.
However, it merely passes details onto crooks and, to add insult to injury, also means a valid ticket is not given.
As reported in the Stowmarket Mercury, a spokesman for Mid Suffolk Council said: “Our parking team are currently checking all council-owned car parks and removing any false QR codes.
“Payment should only ever be made at the machine itself or via the official MiPermit App or on the council website.”
How to avoid fake QR codes
- Check for tampering: Look for signs that the code has been placed over the original
- Check the URL: Make sure the website address is legitimate and matches the website on the parking sign
- Use the official app: Use the official app or website for secure payments
- Manually enter the URL: If you’re unsure, manually enter the URL into your browser instead of scanning the QR code
Sadly, the scam, which is known as “quishing”, has become commonplace across the UK and sees grifters placing QR code stickers on parking machines to fleece victims’ bank accounts.
Anyone who scans these square barcodes to pay for a parking ticket using their phone or to visit a website address is instead directed to a site or app run by scammers.
In recent times, councils up and down the country have been scrapping archaic pay and display meters in favour of ‘pay by app’ systems.
This move has been accelerated by mobile phone providers switching off 3G data networks, on which some parking machines operate.
But experts are concerned this could be leaving drivers vulnerable to scammers.
Speaking last year, Ian Taylor, director of the Alliance of British Drivers consumer body, said: “Parking is becoming not just overpriced and difficult to operate — and in some places in short supply — but now at risk from crime too.
“It also highlights once again the need to stop being so reliant on apps.
“At the very least, credit or debit card payment should be available as well.”
Another man looking to park his car was scammed last year when he was asked to pay a 90p fee to verify his bank details in order to make the payment.
But he alleged that he was then charged £39 to subscribe to the app without being informed about it.
Photographer Milton Howarth, from Garforth, Yorkshire, told BBC Radio 4: “You’ve got to be extra, extra careful.
“This is quite a clever scam.
“It raises the question of how this company is being allowed to continue to openly steal from people.
“They are preying on people, many of them, like myself, getting on in years.
“These stickers should not be allowed to remain on parking meters.”