Scammers Using Fake QR Codes on Parking Meters to Divert Payments

parking meter

Parking meters are the latest avenue fraudsters are hitting, with police in several cities warning people to watch for fake QR codes intended to intercept payments and steal credit card information, according to multiple reports on Thursday (Jan. 13).

Fraudulent QR code stickers were first discovered on public parking meters in San Antonio, Texas at the end of last month, the police tweeted. Austin, Texas also had the same problems, the police there tweeted last week.

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People in both cities were redirected to fraudulent pay portals when scanning some QR codes. Houston also found fake QR stickers on parking meters that direct people to log into a now-defunct “Quick Pay Parking” system. Houston police issued a reminder to residents that the city doesn’t use QR codes for payments now, and never has in the past.

Massachusetts State Police alerted residents on Wednesday (Jan. 12) for “situational awareness purposes only” about the parking meter QR scam and issued a bulletin offering information and guidelines, according to a tweet by the department. There weren’t any official scams reported.

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Fueled in part by the pandemic, QR codes are increasingly being used for payments and information at restaurants, bars, and stores. People are advised to check the URL of the website they’re directed to for payment and look for misspellings, unusual and unprofessional design elements, as well as official branding and logos.

QR codes — or quick response codes — were developed in Japan in the 1990s and were first used by the automotive sector to manage production. Websites and apps are now available that enable people to make their own. While overall QR code fraud represents a small percentage of phishing attacks, there are growing scams involving the technology that has been reported to the Better Business Bureau in the past year.