A NEW scam is causing drivers to lose money on fake parking fines.
The Calgary Parking Authority is warning drivers to exercise caution if they find a parking ticket on their windshield.
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Calgary authorities have reported that fraudsters are printing counterfeit parking tickets and placing them on vehicles, falsely claiming to be issued by the city.
These fraudulent tickets direct people to pay on a fake website, calgaryparkplus.com, which is not affiliated with the Canadian city.
Actual local government parking tickets instruct drivers to make payments at calgaryparking.com/tickets or parkingtickets.calgaryparking.com.
The scam came to light last week after two different drivers reported receiving suspicious tickets.
Both tried to pay the fines with the city’s own resources, which they were unable to do because they were false.
“In one case, they came to our offices and brought a copy of the ticket with them,” Todd Sullivan, leader of Parking Patrol and Investigation at Calgary Parking, told the local news network. City news.
“We don’t know how many were released and we don’t know who released them,” he said.
Sullivan and the CPA advise anyone who finds a fake ticket in their car to report it to the Calgary Police Service’s non-emergency line at 403-266-1234.
Additionally, Sullivan emphasizes never sharing any personal information online or over the phone unless you are absolutely sure it is safe.
This comes hot on the heels of another warning from the CPA in April.
In this similar scam, people would receive text messages claiming they had a parking ticket and directing them to a link with a “self-service portal.”
It is on this portal that people send money to scammers thinking they are paying the bill.
The city and its parking agency have made it clear that they do not use text messages for any type of ticket notification or payment requests, and have advised drivers to simply delete the message and not click on the link it contains.
Sullivan says city tickets are still issued on paper, meaning residents would never receive a ticket virtually.
After this scam, fraudsters had to get more creative and started distributing fake paper tickets made to look authentic.
Although some people were more likely to spot the fake than others, according to interviews conducted by CityNews.
But Sullivan warns that amid this fraud alert, “just because you see [a ticket]doesn’t mean it’s necessarily false.”
Motorists who receive a parking ticket can verify its authenticity by calling Calgary Parking at 403-537-7000 and providing the ticket number to an agent.
Verification can also be done online at calgaryparking.com.
How to spot a fake parking ticket
Thieves sometimes go to great lengths to extract money from drivers
With parking ticket scams on the rise, it’s important to know how to tell the difference between a fake ticket and a legitimate one.
Many parking enforcement agencies, like those employed by cities, will never ask people to pay their fares through apps like Venmo, PayPal or Zelle.
A QR code should always alert drivers as they often lead to fake payment sites created by scammers to access banking or personal information.
It’s also wise to pay close attention to logos, as some scammers even use fake logos close enough to a city’s official logo, fooling those who don’t look closely.
Emails or text messages about parking tickets should always be ignored, as most parking enforcement agencies will never use these means to collect a debt.
Other useful tips for spotting fake citations:
- Do some research into the car park you are parking in, as it is legally required to post signs to inform drivers of who is enforcing the parking rules.
- Carefully examine the citation for any flaws – misspellings, incorrect logos, links, QR codes, etc.
- Review the contact information on the ticket. Sites belonging to cities will always end in .gov.
- Finally, pay by card as it is easier to dispute an illegal charge. Avoid sending checks or cash for a suspicious parking ticket.
- Check a city’s ticket database to see if you were cited by an official.
Source: CBS affiliate WHNT
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
