Car parking scam nearly cost day-tripper £1,300

A visit to the seaside nearly ended up costing a man £1,300 when he became a victim of a parking scam.

Philip Miller, from Accrington, Lancashire, scanned what turned out to be a fake QR code on a parking machine at the Central Car Park, off Central Drive, Blackpool.

His bank later flagged suspicious transactions, including attempted payments of more than £1,300.

Fraudsters had stuck the code on a pay machine at the car park run by Blackpool Council - which said it did not use QR codes for payments, and urged the public to be vigilant.

The 68-year-old said he had just arrived in the resort to celebrate a 50th birthday when he was scammed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "I was a bit annoyed the car park ticket machines were all out of order but then I spotted the QR code and I just paid it via an app on my phone.

"But turned out to be a scam."

He said the fraud started to unravel after he bought a newspaper and his bank texted him to query a strange £119 transaction.

When he phoned the bank back, he was told there had also been attempts to spend £99 and an attempt at an £1,100 purchase at an Argos store.

Both were deemed suspicious and the payments did not go through.

He said: "These dodgy QR codes are everywhere, I was told.

"Fortunately my bank was brilliant and I didn't lose any money, but someone else might not be so lucky."

A Blackpool Council spokesperson said it was made aware of a parking scam on Central car park at the weekend.

"Our team responded quickly to remove any fake QR codes.

"Our parking system does not use QR codes. Instead you can pay in the PayByPhone app, over the phone or in a payment machine.

"Along with the majority of the UK, QR scam stickers are something we have been targeted with numerous times, which is why our proactive teams are tasked daily with removing any they find from council owned car parks in Blackpool."

The spokesperson added: "We urge everybody to double check before making payments. These scams are designed to catch people off guard, and we don't want anyone else to lose money to these fraudsters.

"If you have any concerns about payments recently made, please contact your bank and report to Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud)."

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