A woman from Dublin, Ireland, lost $1,000 after she unconscientiously scanned a fake QR code at a parking meter. Only days later, when she looked at her bank statement, did she realize that she’d become the victim of a scam and found several transactions that she hadn’t made.
The woman had used her phone to scan what appeared to be a legitimate QR code for paying parking fees. Instead, it redirected her onto some suspicious webpage to ask her for her credit card information. According to her, even though it seemed like the URL of the website was wrong and the structure was different from usual, she completed the payment. It wasn’t until days later, seeing many bank account charges, that she realized she had been scammed.
This scam is attributed to “quishing” and has recently been on the increase in Dublin and the surrounding areas, including Bray and Greystones. The scammers glue fake QR codes over the real ones at the parking meters. It also means that when unsuspecting motorists pays for parking, they will be tricked into entering their important personal and financial information on false web pages of fraudsters.
In most instances, fake codes almost exactly look like the genuine ones, making them easily fall into the trap. Consequences for victims are greater than the initial financial loss. Not only are they losing money by being scammed, but they run the risk of added fines for unpaid parking, since this fraudulent website doesn’t process the actual fee for parking. This is a way victims could be left with even greater costs when they return to find a ticket on their car. Local authorities did not waste any time addressing the issue.
Fingal County Council and Bray East Independent Councillor Malachaí Duddy have issued a warning. Councillor Duddy took to social media to warn people to be cautious when using parking meters.
“I’ve been made aware of a possible parking scam in Bray and Greystones using a fake QR code to access your bank account,”
he posted on X, formerly Twitter, promising to raise the matter with Wicklow County Council. For this reason, authorities are now calling on motorists to be more aware of these new QR code scams. Experts recommend cross-checking for tampering and/or some stickers covering an original code to ward off falling into the trap. Secondly, one should check the URL to ensure it matches the official website of the parking provider before entering in personal information. Using trusted QR scanning apps that flag potential suspicious links adds another layer of protection.
Because digital scams are constantly changing, the essence is to be careful and keep catching up. Have you ever been in a situation where you were presented with a suspicious QR code, and what was your approach?
