Scammers Using Fake QR Codes on Parking Meters to Steal Parker’s Money

By Ana Dascalescu

Posted on January 13, 2022

First, Apple AirTags were used to track people to steal their cars, now QR codes are used to steal parking payments.

Authorities from San Antonio warn the public not to pay any parking fees using QR codes, as those codes are fake and used by scammers to steal the parking fees.

Basically, QR scammers slap a sticker onto the parking meters and unwitting parkers wanting to pay the fee had simply sent the money to the scammers’ account.

The fake QR codes claimed to direct parkers to a “Quick Pay Parking” website, hosted on a suspicious looking domain (passportlab.xyz), now taken down.

“We don’t use QR codes at all for this very reason, because they are easy to fake or place on the devices. “And we heard from industry leaders that this would be a possibility. Austin accepts payments directly at the meter with coins or credit or with the Park ATX mobile payment app,” Austin parking division manager Jason Redfern told KXAN.

So far, the scam has only been seen in Texas but considering how easy it is to make a QR code and website, you should be careful whenever you encounter one.

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