Following a spate of fake QR codes being stuck on payment machines at car parks in Pembrokeshire and across the UK, the RAC is advising drivers to be ‘very vigilant’ and only pay with cash, card or official apps to avoid being scammed.
Criminals are catching out unsuspecting drivers by placing fake QR codes over council-owned parking machines, in what’s being dubbed as ‘quishing’. In the last month, there has been a big spike in false QR codes on parking machines in Barking and Dagenham, Northumberland, Northamptonshire, South Tyneside and Pembrokeshire, which all appear to use the PayByPhone app to collect parking payments. The RAC is also aware that a car park in Lytham St Annes, which uses the MI Permit app for payment, was targeted.
The false codes are leading people to enter their card details into fraudulent websites set up to steal payment information, which criminals then use to spend money from their bank accounts.
To avoid being caught out by car park scammers, the RAC advises drivers to only pay via a QR code if they have no other payment option. It’s better to pay by cash, card or via the car park’s official app on your phone. You could also call the parking provider’s phone number and follow the instructions, but you still need to be careful this is a genuine number.
Simon Williams added, “Our research with drivers shows that many still prefer to pay with cash. Unfortunately, this option – along with payment machines – are being phased out by lots of councils, which a majority of drivers think is a bad idea.* We believe there should always be at least two different means of paying for parking in the event technology fails or the car park is located somewhere with intermittent phone signal.”
