{"id":223162,"date":"2025-06-29T05:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T05:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/223162\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T05:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T05:11:17","slug":"drivers-urged-to-be-vigilant-as-qr-code-parking-scams-surge-across-northern-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/223162\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers urged to be vigilant as QR code parking scams surge across Northern Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7986bd_76f3dc5572c0488396f45c16376418c6~mv2.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%;max-width:100%\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/www.loveballymena.online\/post\/drivers-urged-to-be-vigilant-as-qr-code-parking-scams-surge-across-northern-ireland\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/7986bd_76f3dc5572c0488396f45c16376418c6~mv2.jpg\/v1\/fill\/w_4204,h_2848,al_c,q_90\/7986bd_76f3dc5572c0488396f45c16376418c6~mv2.jpg\" draggable=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-nwygg6\">Police across Northern Ireland are urging motorists to stay alert to a growing parking scam involving fake QR codes placed over legitimate signage in car parks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-8cuwu9\">The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has issued a warning after receiving several reports in recent weeks from drivers who were tricked into entering credit card details on fraudulent websites. <\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-36kfg323\">These sites were accessed via QR codes that had been maliciously stuck over official ones on parking meters and signage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-sjfd812\">The scammers\u2019 tactic involves directing unsuspecting users to fake portals that closely mimic official parking payment websites, with the intent of harvesting sensitive personal and financial information.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-jhcco15\"><strong style=\"font-weight:700\">A PSNI spokesperson<\/strong> stated:<\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-iicq118\">\u201cIn recent weeks, police have received reports regarding unsuspecting motorists entering credit card details into fake parking portals, resulting in unauthorised transactions, and it\u2019s important that the public are aware of these scams and what they can do to avoid being a victim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-weight:700\">How to avoid falling victim to QR code parking scams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-76hob26\">As incidents increase, police are offering practical advice to help the public recognise and avoid these scams:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ggbv- _6XZJW\">\n<li dir=\"auto\" aria-level=\"1\" class=\"_8T5i3\" style=\"margin-inline-start:1.5em;list-style-type:disc\">\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"\" id=\"viewer-2iwi534\">Use official apps or websites. When paying for parking, stick to trusted and official platforms rather than third-party QR links. Signage should include alternative payment methods if you\u2019re unsure.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Ongoing efforts and what to do if you\u2019ve been scammed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-rzfaj49\">Police are working closely with local councils and private car park operators across Northern Ireland to identify and remove fake QR codes, as well as strengthen on-site security measures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_04qQG jtShe _6XZJW UGHSE\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-k7ctk52\">Motorists who suspect they\u2019ve been scammed are urged to act quickly:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police across Northern Ireland are urging motorists to stay alert to a growing parking scam involving fake QR&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[9658,9660,9661,9656,9659,1144,9657,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-223162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-ballymena-news","9":"tag-causeway-coast-and-glens","10":"tag-county-antrim","11":"tag-love-ballymena","12":"tag-mid-and-east-antrim","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-northern-ireland-news","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114764938221530458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}