QR code parking scams are on the rise

Is that QR code legit, or could it be about to drain your account?

For many drivers, parking is such a headache - fighting for a space in a car park then working out how to pay. Is it cash, card, an app, or a website?

In the last week, the BBC has had two separate reports of customers who have been scammed when paying for parking after using QR codes.

Jess Hagan and James Freeman lost £370 when she used a QR code at a car park in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside which has been placed by scammers to imitate the RingGo parking app. They only noticed something was wrong the next morning when they saw five transactions on Jake's phone ranging from £20 to £150.

RingGo says it "does not use QR codes on any signs that we issue to help drivers pay for parking.

Meanwhile, Les Howard used a QR code to download an app to pay for parking in Caernarfon in North Wales. He became suspicious and deleted the app but by then it was too late - £1 was withdrawn from his account, presumably as a test, followed by £60. When he contacted his bank, he found out that a monthly £60 subscription had been taken out.

Like RingGo, the council responsible for car parks in that area said it did not use QR codes for parking payments.

QR code parking scams are soaring in the UK. The number of fake QR codes being stuck on parking payment machines has risen by 1300% between 2023 an 2026, according to data from a Freedom of Information request and reported by the RAC.

Councils are also keen to inform motorists of the risk of QR code scams, also known as quishing. In the last two years alone, warnings have been issued by authorities in Sunderland, Dorset, West Devon, Hartlepool, Kensington and Chelsea, Padstow, York, Westmorland and Furness, North East Lincolnshire, and Walsall.

The British Parking Association has advice on protecting yourself from fraud, inclding fake QR codes, penalty charge notices in text messages, and contactless card payment scams.