Toronto police say scammers are putting fake QR codes on parking meters
People have been charged nearly $2,000 through malicious codes
You should look very closely at Green P parking meters before proceeding to pay.
A Toronto police spokesperson told CP24 that there have been three recent reports of fake QR codes affixed to parking meters in the city, instructing people to pay through malicious websites. The Toronto Police Service Financial Crimes Unit is now investigating the matter.
Related: Parking in Toronto could get more expensive next month
“The individual thinks they’re paying for street parking, scans a QR code, they are directed to what appears to be a legitimate website, make a payment, and instead of being charged $7 they’re charged almost $2,000,” Constable Laura Brabant told the outlet.
Police said that before scanning QR codes, people should check for “peeling edges, mismatched branding,or anything recently tampered with” and generally be cautious.
Related: The Toronto Parking Authority is in hot water again
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
