Urgent warning over QR code scam tricking drivers out of £100s at popular car park – spot the signs

DRIVERS person been warned of a QR codification scam that tin perchance instrumentality car owners retired of hundreds of pounds astatine a fashionable car park.

Residents successful Suffolk person been urged to beryllium other vigilant aft a caller parking scam was discovered astatine the Ipswich Street car parkland successful Stowmarket.

The scam works erstwhile the codification is scanned and takes users to a fake website - which drivers past unknowingly participate their paper details into to wage for parking.

However, it simply passes details onto crooks and, to adhd insult to injury, besides means a valid summons is not given.

As reported successful the Stowmarket Mercury, a spokesperson for Mid Suffolk Council said: "Our parking squad are presently checking each council-owned car parks and removing immoderate mendacious QR codes.

"Payment should lone ever beryllium made astatine the instrumentality itself oregon via the authoritative MiPermit App oregon connected the assembly website."

Sadly, the scam, which is known arsenic “quishing”, has go commonplace crossed the UK and sees grifters placing QR codification stickers connected parking machines to fleece victims' slope accounts.

Anyone who scans these quadrate barcodes to wage for a parking summons utilizing their telephone oregon to sojourn a website code is alternatively directed to a tract oregon app tally by scammers.

In caller times, councils up and down the state person been scrapping archaic wage and show meters successful favour of ‘pay by app’ systems.

This determination has been accelerated by mobile telephone providers switching disconnected 3G information networks, connected which immoderate parking machines operate.

But experts are acrophobic this could beryllium leaving drivers susceptible to scammers.

Speaking past year, Ian Taylor, manager of the Alliance of British Drivers user body, said: “Parking is becoming not conscionable overpriced and hard to run — and successful immoderate places successful abbreviated proviso — but present astatine hazard from crime too.

“It besides highlights erstwhile again the request to halt being truthful reliant connected apps.

"At the precise least, recognition oregon debit paper outgo should beryllium disposable arsenic well.”

Another antheral looking to parkland his car was scammed past twelvemonth erstwhile helium was asked to wage a 90p interest to verify his slope details successful bid to marque the payment.

But helium alleged that helium was past charged £39 to subscribe to the app without being informed astir it.

Photographer Milton Howarth, from Garforth, Yorkshire, told BBC Radio 4: "You've got to beryllium extra, other careful.

"This is rather a clever scam.

"It raises the question of however this institution is being allowed to proceed to openly bargain from people.

"They are preying connected people, galore of them, similar myself, getting connected successful years.

"These stickers should not beryllium allowed to stay connected parking meters."