Parking ticket and parking meter scams tend to bubble up to the surface once a year, and well, this is the season for the treason. This time, however, there are two related scams we’re having to deal with.
One is super realistic-looking parking tickets left on windshields. These phony tickets look just like the real deal, like this one that someone found in Calgary, Canada.
As you can see, these scammers have their act perfected, down to the same logo that the city’s parking division uses, and are getting fancy by buying envelope templates and mini printers online to make their fakes look like real. However, there's one big clue: a fake website address.
This scam isn't just happening in Calgary. Reports of these fake tickets are popping up all over the U.S.
QR codes on parking meters scam
The other parking scam that’s making the rounds is one where fraudsters affix fake QR codes to parking meters in popular tourist and shopping areas. When scanned, these codes directed users to a fraudulent website which mimicked legit parking payment sites like this one used in California: PoyByPhone.online.
No, that’s not a typo in “PoyByPhone” – the scammers are just hoping that people who park at those meters read the URL so quickly, they completely overlook that it’s misspelled (“Poy” instead of “Pay”).
When ConsumerAffairs used Google Safe Browsing to check out the “Poy” site, there was a big red warning sticker, warning users that it had recently found phishing on that site.
But, not everyone uses Google Chrome and might not get the same warning and those who don’t, might go ahead and scan the code, only to be prompted to enter their location and payment details. At that point, if someone fills in those blanks, they unknowingly hand over sensitive information to the scammers.
How to avoid these traps
Police and city parking officials are trying to take these scams off the streets as soon as they’re detected. But, cities are strapped these days and many simply don’t have the people in place to play meter reader detective.
Nonetheless, you can bone up on what to look for so you don’t get taken.
Check the ticket for weird stuff… like typos, strange logos, or anything that just seems off.
Go straight to the source… Instead of using the ticket website, head to your city's official parking website and look up any tickets by your license plate number. It's far safer to look up your vehicle's license plate directly on official parking authority websites and it ensures the legitimacy of any ticket you pay and the security of your personal information.