Urgent car park warning over new QR code fraud threat in Gloucestershire
People using car parks in Gloucestershire are being warned about a new scam trying to exploit the use of cashless payments. Fraudsters[1] have been replacing QR codes on pay machines in car parks with fake ones. Customers scanning the fake QR codes are then taken to a phishing website where they are instructed to put in payment details. The motorists[2] believing they are paying money to the car park operator.
Gloucestershire police has sent out a Community Alert[3] warning people of the ’emerging fraud threat’. Cheltenham Borough Council has also issued its own alert.
The council[6] said: “Fraudsters have been placing QR codes in car parks and using fake websites to get bank details.
To avoid any scam payment websites, make sure you access PayByPhone and other online parking fee providers safely. “In our car parks you can also pay using your card at the machine.” The council also shares the advice put out by police. This advice says: If you choose to pay make online payments in local car parks, make sure you follow one of the routes below:
- Download the PayByPhone (or other operator app) directly from the App Store or Google Play
- Visit the operator’s website by PayByPhone.co.uk (or other operator web address) directly into your browser search bar
Most car park machines also accept payment cards.
If you do use a QR code, check that it appears on official signage and does not appear to have been doctored.
References
- ^ Fraudsters (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ motorists (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Community Alert (www.yourcommunityalerts.co.uk)
- ^ Hundreds of acres of land near Cheltenham to be sold for thousands of homes and three schools (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Gloucestershire woman reporting assault told by police ‘go home … because nobody wants to talk to you in this state’ (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ council (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)