Motorists warned over phishing parking scam
The QR codes lead to a phoney website that pretends to be the PayByPhone site. Scammers use these sites to steal payment information, often leading to more fraudulent payments from the bank accounts of unsuspecting motorists. The scam also puts motorists at risk of parking fines, as they may not be aware that they haven’t purchased parking in the right way.
Transcript
00:00Drivers are being warned to watch out as fake QR codes have been plastered over
00:06council-owned parking machines in some parts of the UK. The alarm was raised by
00:11Conway Council in North Wales and followed prior warnings about similar
00:16scams in pubs and restaurants. Fraudsters are sticking their own QR codes on top
00:22of genuine ones in an attempt to get people to unwittingly hand over personal
00:27information including card details. It is a new twist on the phishing scam.
00:33Parking machines have increasingly offered drivers the option to pay via an
00:38app or a website instead of having to remember to bring cash with them. The QR
00:44code leads to a phony website that pretends to be the pay by phone site.
00:49Scammers use these sites to steal payment information often leading to
00:54more fraudulent payments from the bank accounts of unsuspecting motorists.