Drivers who use parking ticket machines have been urged to 'protect yourself'

Motorists are being urgently warned to "protect yourself" when using parking ticket machines due to a surge in scams that have caused significant "distress". The rise in fraudulent activities, including fake QR codes, deceptive websites, and bogus parking ticket emails, comes as the cost of living crisis continues to affect people across the country.

Experts are stressing the importance of downloading parking apps exclusively from reputable sources such as the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Speaking to Birmingham Live, Andy Syrett, UK managing director at YourParkingSpace, said: "After witnessing the distress caused by parking app scams last year, we want to ensure that we can educate and protect our customers.

"These tips aren't just recommendations - they are crucial steps every driver should take to ensure their online safety. Our commitment to your security is our top priority. We encourage everyone to practise these precautions to protect themselves from the increasingly sophisticated methods of scammers."

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Drivers are also advised to vigilantly monitor their financial statements for any unfamiliar charges, particularly small, recurring ones that could go unnoticed. Setting up alerts with banks for transactions can aid in tracking account activity as it happens.

Any suspicious transactions should be reported to the bank immediately to halt further unauthorized charges. Chartered security professional, James Bore, has sent out a stern warning about the craftiness of scammers, stressing that they go to great lengths to make their bogus websites look convincingly real in order to dupe an unwary public.

He added: "If I was setting up a fake website, I'd give it a good domain name, a logo and make it look very professional so you wouldn't be able to tell it's not real." Further, he warned the public to beware of unexpected QR codes, remarking: "But if you notice a QR code has been stuck on a parking meter, that should ring alarm bells and the easiest way to avoid it is to not use it. If you have any concerns, call the car park provider's phone number and follow the instructions."

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