Experts warn over ‘creative’ parking scam that could take your money in seconds

Experts have issued a warning over a new parking scam that's robbing drivers' money.

With so many scams doing the rounds online, it's becoming increasingly difficult to know what's real and what's not.

But one particular scam is tricking drivers into paying fraudsters for their parking - and it's really easy to get caught out.

All parking lots are different. While in some, drivers are required to provide a paper ticket which is placed on the dash, others are paid for purely online.

Some car parks ask you to book or pay for your space via an app, while others direct drivers to a website where they can enter their registration and pay the correct fee.

Many parking lots have number plate recognition, which means the driver and vehicle is identified arriving and leaving the area, allowing the company to calculate how much you should be paying.

But one scam has taken people by surprise after fraudsters used a 'creative' trick to direct drivers away from the car park's website and to a fraudulent site instead.

“'You want to park here? Scan this QR code on the parking machine, and pay'," one person wrote on X.

"Millions per month have been made on the QR Code scam."

How does it work?

Well, scammers are covering the correct QR codes with a sticker featuring a different QR code.

It's difficult to immediately notice, but in a video, the X user could be seen peeling off the sticker to reveal the correct code underneath.

"Got to admire the creativity here," one user commented.

“You want to park here? Scan this QR code on the parking machine, and pay”

Millions per month have been made on the QR Code scam. pic.twitter.com/D1NAEBXYsb

— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) November 18, 2024

While another said: "Don't fall for it! Those QR codes on parking machines are a scam, and millions have already been lost. I'm wary of scanning anything that doesn't come from a trusted source."

One person recalled being scammed in the very same way, adding: "They had hacked into my phone, my Google account, bank accounts, Crypto accounts all emptied, etc.

"Loans taken out in my name, 50k in Rolex watches... That was just the start.

"All because I QR’d a menu that had a sticker like that."

How to avoid falling for the scam

Well, numerous social media users have claimed they never scan public QR codes, for this very reason.

In the UK, the RAC's head of policy, Simon Williams told The Guardian: “Unfortunately, the increasing popularity and ease of using QR codes appears to have made drivers more vulnerable to malicious scammers. For some, this sadly means a Quick Response code could in fact be a ‘quick route’ to losing money.

“As if this quishing scam isn’t nasty enough, it can also lead to drivers being caught out twice if they don’t realise they haven’t paid for parking and end up getting a hefty fine from the council.”