Couple warn of parking QR code scam after £370 loss

3 hours ago

Joshua AitkenNorth East and Cumbria

Jess and her fiance Jake Freeman are in the process of moving house and say the incident caused unnecessary stress

Jess Hagan Jess - a short blonde woman in her 20s - stands to the right of her partner Jake who is wearing a black tank top and has his arm around Jess. They both are looking upwards to the camera and smiling. They're standing on a hill with a Mediterranean-looking coastal background behind them in this holiday snap. — Jess and her fiance Jake Freeman are in the process of moving house and say the incident caused unnecessary stress

A driver has warned other motorists to watch out for QR code scams when paying for parking after losing hundreds of pounds.

Jess Hagan, 28, from Forest Hall, Newcastle, said she and fiance Jake Freeman, 29, lost £370 after falling foul of a scam in North Tyneside on Saturday.

She said they woke up the next day with "a bunch of notifications from the bank", and were shocked by the attention to detail of scammers who imitated the RingGo parking app.

RingGo said it did not use QR codes on any signs to help drivers pay for parking and the codes were "a common tool for scams and fraud".

Hagan, who parked in the Spanish City plaza car park in Whitley Bay, saw a QR code attached to a pay and display machine.

She said: "Eventually it said the payment had declined and we hadn't been charged, so we went to pay at the machine after all.

"We got on with our day, but woke up the following morning with a bunch of notifications from the bank.

"Someone's absolutely rinsed my partner's bank account. We were baffled."

Scam QR codes were printed as stickers and attached to a pay and display machine in Whitley Bay

BBC/Leigh Jones A close-up shot of a solar-panel powered pay and display machine. It's made of black metal and stuck on is a professionally printed RingGo branded information sticker denoting the location code for the car park the machine is located. On the right is a pixelated QR code stuck conveniently over a white box in the graphic allowing it to seamlessly fit with the branding. — Scam QR codes were printed as stickers and attached to a pay and display machine in Whitley Bay

The couple woke up to find five transactions ranging from £20 to £150, and in total lost £370.

"I had a look on RingGo's official website, and there was a warning about QR codes, and that's when we realised it was a scam," Hagan said.

"The website looked fully legitimate, there were no red flags, it had all the branding, even privacy policies at the bottom.

"There was just nothing about it that screamed scam.

"We both work full-time, we work hard, and we're in the process of trying to buy a house.

"I work with data, Jake my partner is a graphic designer, so he's clued up on this stuff too and there was absolutely nothing suspicious

"You're always aware when you're paying online, you always look for telltale signs and there was nothing like that."

Hagan said she and her partner immediately reported the transactions to their bank, which opened a fraud investigation, and reported the case to the Financial Conduct Authority.

North Tyneside Council was also alerted, though the incident occurred on privately owned land.

RingGo says it never uses QR codes to direct customers to pay for parking

BBC/Leigh Jones A black solar paneled pay and display machine stands in the foreground of a car park surrounded by tidily kept shrubbery. Next to it stands a green and white sign entitled 'pay here' with instructions and terms and conditions for parking on the site. — RingGo says it never uses QR codes to direct customers to pay for parking

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

"If you suspect you have found a scam QR code on a local pay and display machine, please register it to the council operating in the area so it can be flagged with the local authorities and removed.

"RingGo mobile app lets drivers park and pay via a secure, encrypted service. Drivers should always be careful when registering card details outside of the app, or if anyone approaches them in a car park."

Chris Marsh, general manager of Spanish City, told BBC Radio Newcastle: "RingGo does not use QR codes.

"We would never recommend following a payment link via QR code due to the potential for this scam.

"Our signage and ticket machine are checked regularly for any vandalism - to date we are unaware of any QR codes being posted on our signage or ticket machine.

"No customer has ever reported to us directly that they have fallen victim to a QR code scam from our car park."

North Tyneside Council has urged anyone who sees similar QR code scams to report them to the council immediately.

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