The Austin Police Department is investigating potentially fraudulent QR code stickers found on more than two dozen parking meters across the Texas capital.
Earlier this month, local parking enforcement officers discovered Quick Response barcodes on city-wide pay stations; people attempting to feed the meter by scanning a black-and-white sticker may have submitted payment to a bogus vendor.
“The QR codes linked to a site that is not part of the City of Austin paid parking system and may have been created with malicious intent,” according to a local government announcement. Austin Transportation offers only three ways to pay for parking: with coins or credit/debit card at a pay station, or via the Park ATX mobile app. Quick Response codes are not currently an option.
“We’ve talked to industry professionals who have warned us about using QR codes,” Parking Enterprise Manager Jason Redfern told Fox 7 Austin. “And that’s why we do not utilize QR codes on our infrastructure at all.”
Anyone who believes they were a victim of a credit card breach due to a recent parking meter payment should file a police report (call 3-1-1 or visit iReportAustin.com) and notify their card issuer.
The parking enforcement team spent the first week of the new year inspecting the city’s 900-plus pay stations for sham QR codes; there is no word on whether anymore were discovered. Folks are encouraged to report anyone who is not a badged City of Austin employee they see tampering with a pay station.
Police in nearby San Antonio last month reported a similar pay-to-park scam featuring fraudulent QR code stickers.
