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BBC News, Yorkshire
While struggling to find a parking space at York Hospital, Jacki Jordan decided to drive to a different site.
Upon securing the final spot at Wigginton Road Car Park, she just managed to make her 11:30 GMT medical appointment.
At one of the information boards, the 70-year-old scanned a QR code, input her name and email address, and paid £3 for two hours of parking.
Unbeknownst to Jacki, she had actually subscribed to an entertainment website with a bi-weekly charge.
An additional login prompt then appeared on Jacki’s phone, and she repeated the procedure, anxious that her payment had failed during the first attempt.
Only upon returning home did she discover two emails from websites – jabberfeed.com and MagnetDrive.com – expressing gratitude for her registration.
“Both had deducted £3 from my account, and when I checked on my banking app, I found they were both registered in Cyprus,” Jacki reported.
“I called the bank, and they halted the transactions while I had my bank card deactivated.”
According to the terms and conditions of the websites, users were charged £3 for a three-day trial, which would subsequently renew automatically as a full 14-day membership.
A sum of £17.49 would then be withdrawn from the user’s bank account every 14 days starting from the subscription date.
As Jacki inadvertently subscribed to two separate websites, this could have lead to £70 being extracted from her account monthly if not for the bank’s intervention.
“I contacted the car park management firm, Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, and the representative I spoke with was extremely accommodating,” Jacki mentioned.
“I was concerned I’d receive a penalty for non-payment since none of the funds had been processed for parking.
“She informed me that they did not utilize QR codes in their car parks and assured me she would dispatch someone to investigate.”
A representative for Bransby Wilson stated they had been informed of the claims the previous Tuesday and conducted a detailed examination of the area.
“We can verify that all payment options offered at our parking locations are safe and approved by our organization,” they stated.
They encouraged any patron who had doubts regarding the payment procedure to reach out.
“I was in a hurry and I guess not attentive,” remarked Jacki, from Strensall.
“It just appeared to be a legitimate QR code on the edge of the sign. It never crossed my mind it could be a fraud.
“These QR codes are ubiquitous now, but I would never use one again.”
The City of York Council was also informed of the problem and had sent personnel to take down the deceitful stickers.
In a warning issued on social media, a representative said: “Counterfeit QR codes have surfaced on some pay-by-phone signs in our car parks.
“We are removing them whenever found, but please remain alert.”
They noted that the sole method to pay by phone in council car parks was through the mobile application.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute cautioned that scams related to parking were increasing.
Katherine Hart, principal officer for scams, doorstep crime, and consumer vulnerability, stated: “We are encountering these QR codes much more regularly nowadays, likely since Covid has shifted us towards a more cashless culture.
“In areas where remote payment options exist, criminals are taking advantage by placing fake codes, either overlapping the genuine one or positioned nearby.”
Ms. Hart further emphasized that this led individuals to disclose their payment or personal information, which could be utilized to harvest data or defraud the victim subsequently.
“We need the public and those responsible for maintaining public spaces to exercise greater caution,” she pronounced.
“Ensure that if you click on a QR code, it directs you to the site you expect it to.”
The British Parking Association announced that they had been made aware that a few parking facilities nationwide had been impacted.
A representative cautioned that tell-tale signs included QR codes appearing to have been overlaid on another QR code or showing signs of tampering.
The domain of the website should also align with that presented on the parking sign.
In other parts of Yorkshire, various drivers have reported observing a parallel scam.
Sarah Croucher parked in Burley Road Car Park, close to Leeds city center, shortly before the holiday season.
“You were required to scan a QR code, tap on a link that then directed you to the app store to download an application,” she recounted.
“Then, you had to input your card information, which I was hesitant to do but needed to make the payment, and I received a message from my bank immediately stating that the transaction could not be completed.”
Fortunately, Sarah did not incur any financial loss thanks to her bank detecting the scam.
When reached for comments, the website Jabberfeed initially asked the BBC for credit card information to “access their account.”
The next day, they indicated that they took Jacki’s circumstance “very earnestly” and an inquiry discovered an issue with “Google Targeting”.
They claimed it had been rectified and refunds had been processed accordingly.
In a similar manner, MagnetDrive mentioned: “We are profoundly concerned about this predicament and have meticulously investigated the incident.
“Our inquiries indicate that our website was compromised by a scam.”
They also asserted that the issue had been resolved and they were implementing “vigorous measures” to bolster their systems.
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