Trading Standards - Scam QR Codes on Parking Meters

23rd October 2025

This week there have been reports from Perthshire of stickers with scam QR codes being stuck onto several parking meters (as shown in the image).

The stickers lead to a malicious website which is designed to gather customers' payment and personal details.

Parking on the machines targeted is paid via the RingGo app, which does not use QR codes.

Scanning a fake QR code could also allow scammers to access other functions and apps on your phone. In addition, anyone who scans a scam QR code in a car park will not realise that they have not in fact paid for their parking, and so could also end up being fined by the council or owner of the car park.

Recent figures from Action Fraud have shown that in the last five years there has been a 14-fold increase in scams related to QR codes.

How to Avoid
The RAC advise that safest course of action when making a payment at a council-owned car park, electric vehicle charge points and private car parks is to avoid using QR codes altogether.
Where possible, pay via cash, card or using an official app downloaded from your smartphone's app store.

If you do decide to use the QR code:
Check to see if it has been stuck over a legitimate code. For example, it may be partially obscure information beneath or look larger than the rest of the information on the parking meter.

Review the preview of the QR code's URL before opening it to see if it appears legitimate. You can do this by opening your mobile device camera and pointing this at the QR code. This will identify the webpage link and provide the site address the code will take you to. Make sure the website uses HTTPS rather than HTTP, doesn’t have obvious misspellings and has a trusted domain. Don’t click on unfamiliar or shortened links.

If you are worried that you have made a payment to a scam website after scanning a QR code, check your bank transactions and contact your bank.

Find out more
Advice from Police Scotland via CyberScotland: www.cyberscotland.com/preventing-quishing-attacks/
Get Safe Online: www.getsafeonline.org/personal/articles/qr-codes
RAC article: https://media.rac.co.uk/be-qrareful-rac-warns-drivers-to-watch-out-for-parking-payment-scams-3337223
Advice from RingGo on avoiding QR code scams: https://ringgo.co.uk/qr-code-stay-safe-from-scam