Motorists are misled to hand over hundreds of pounds to fraudsters in a QR code -scam on British parking garages.
An urgent warning has been issued about the fake QR codes that have been seen on parking or charging meters throughout the country.
When they are scanned, the codes motorists, who believe they pay for a legitimate ticket, lead to a fake site that can steal both their money and personal information.
Some motorists claim to have been the target of large-scale theft- in which a woman said she had taken £ 1500 from her bank account.
This week, suspicious codes were noticed in a parking lot in Derby, where a councilor said he fears that many could have been misled to transfer cash.
Alderman Alan Graves said that the QR codes on the private parking garage of Crompton Street brought him to a fake website to ask for money.
He added that while the stickers have now been removed, he wanted to warn motorists about the dangers related to the scam.
Alderman Graves told Derbyshire Live: 'It is a major crime. The codes take you to a fake website.
'It was to ask for money and you only have to collect a few people and you can get a lot of money.
Shown: fake QR codes in a parking lot in Debighshire in Noordoost -Wales
An urgent warning has been issued about the fake QR codes spotted on parking or charging meters throughout the country (file photo)
“What is worse is that the real parking space of the parking space will not register them as paid, so that they can even get a fine.”
MailOnline has contacted Parkopedia, which runs the parking lot of Crompton Street for comment.
Monmouthshire County Council also gave a similar warning about parking scams yesterday.
A spokesperson for the Welsh Local Authority said that fake QR codes were held on parking machines in parking garages.
They said that the codes brought users to a subscription – charging an accession and signing the user for a subscription to a diet plan.
In the meantime, the local population in Denbighshire in Noordoost -Wales has also been warned about fake QR codes in parking garages.
A spokesperson for a district council said: 'We have had reports that fraudulent QR codes have been placed on parking meters in the province.
'Be careful, because the fake website behind the QR codes steals payment data.
'We do not use QR codes as a payment method at parking space of the council. You can pay with cash, card, telephone or by the official Paybyphone app. Officers will do their best to remove these stickers when they see them. '
And a similar scam was also reported in Guildford in Surrey last month with two fake -qr codes that were spotted in the parking garages of the municipality.
Main councilor for commercial services, Catherine Houston, said: 'We are aware of the increase in the Parking Folaming of QR code throughout the country and I want to reassure residents that our teams regularly inspect our parking garages to keep them safe and free of fraudulent activities.
'Criminals become more advanced in their methods, so if you see a QR code in one of our parking garages, do not scan them; Report it to the council instead.
“By increasing the awareness of such scams, we help to protect drivers against misled, so that residents and visitors can use our parking garages in confidence.”
Some motorists have claimed that thousands of pounds are derived from their bank accounts as a result of the scam.
SCAM QR codes have been held on display machines and tariff boards in Lytham St Annes in Lancashire
Man of the man warning for fake QR code in a parking lot in Great -Britain
A woman wrote on Facebook that she had used the parking garage of St Annes Beach and was scammed at an amount of £ 1500.
She said: 'I paid for parking, or so I thought, on the beach park of the St Anne with this (QR code) because I had no money.
'Then £ 1500 went out of my bank! They only said five minutes after I paid 'that someone tried to add my card to their Google Pay.
'Hopefully I will get it back as a police, action fraud and the company from which he ordered things with my card were informed.
“Apparently he used my card to buy car components in Hinckley (Leicestershire), my son paid in the same way on the same day and they tried his yesterday too.”
Another victim in Lancashire wrote: 'I was done through this on Monday. I have a warning from my bank last night. It is all sorted, but they tried to use it at Sainsburys for £ 104. “
Tina Sheppard from Derbyshire also fell prey to the scam in Leicester, who started to take amounts from her bank account to £ 80.
Mrs Sheppard told the Telegraph derby: 'The code really looked really. I was on my way to a business event, and to be honest, my biggest worries was that it was dark and I wanted to go to the hotel where I put my bags safely
'I tried to download the parking app on the parkingboard and it sent me to a website instead. It looked completely genuine and after placing my card details on the site it crashed.
'I actually called my husband to help myself remotely and he successfully managed to help me at home. The bank then contacted me to ask if I really bought the site, and thinking that there was no problem, I said “yes”. '
Fortunately, Mrs. Sheppard's bank was able to raise her stolen money.
Last year, drivers in Cheltenham were also the target of the scam on parking garages.
The deputy director Paul Jones of the municipality urged residents to avoid the QR codes and to use cash, card and Apple Pay instead.
And in Newcastle, drivers were warned not to use QR codes to pay for parking, with at least three victims included by the Newcastle city council.
A spokeswoman for the council said: 'The codes are not linked to an official payment website and are not used as a payment method by the city council.
'After each reported incident, we immediately went to the parking lot in question to check and remove unofficial signage. On every occasion, however, we have found that the signs have already been removed. '
Three Council Run Parks, Dean Street, Morden Street and Bandford Square, were the target with victims who lost £ 60 to the fraudsters.
