These days, QR codes, or quick response codes, are widely used.
These codes are extensively used in peer-to-peer payment systems, restaurant menus, and television ads as a simple method of unlocking your phone’s camera to access internet services. Recently, parking meters have also been a part of this.
Across the country, counties and cities are collaborating with app developers to build online payment gateways for a service that was formerly a coin-operated one.
Regrettably, con artists have discovered a way.
Due to an increase in phony QR code stickers discovered on parking meters, police in a number of beach cities in the Los Angeles area have lately issued warnings.
After removing 14 stickers, Manhattan Beach police issued a social media warning, saying, “The stickers are made to appear as if you could pay for the parking space via an external website.”
Naturally, drivers are redirected to a convincing but fraudulent website that steals your money and personal information rather than a genuine payment service. The USPS refers to it as “quishing.”
While many other parking meters accept QR codes, Manhattan Beach does not.
On top of or next to the authentic payment stickers, authorities discovered phony QR code stickers on about 150 parking meters in nearby Redondo Beach.
Experts argue that since mobile payments are becoming more common, customers should be informed and wary.
“The convenience of being able to point and pay is enticing — and often outweighs good cyber security practices,” says Canadian technology and privacy analyst Sharon Polsky.
Additionally, the stickers’ positioning is frequently sufficient to give them a false sense of authority.
Polsky contends that since it is impossible to locate any QR points, it is better to just search for the payment website or type the URL into the browser on your phone.
But if you’re going to use a QR code, she suggests the following tips:
- It could be a fake if each line and character’s edges aren’t crisp and exact.
- On the surface where the sticker is adhered, run your fingertip over it. The sticker shouldn’t have any noticeable thickness or edges. If there is, it may be concealing a somewhat smaller sticker so that its corners are hidden.
- Try lifting one of the sticker’s edges or corners. Avoid using the QR code if it lifts away from the parking meter’s surface.
According to Jeff Le, founder of 100 Mile Strategies and a government affairs expert, cities need to be more aggressive in educating and safeguarding drivers.
“This could be done with public awareness collateral in key parking garages, public safety/law enforcement partners, the local DMV, and other local government service areas,” Le stated.
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