Urgent warning to double check parking tickets after driver charged $53 – easy way to pay is immediate bad sign

SCAMMERS found a new way to scheme money from unsuspecting drivers – police tell drivers what to look for before paying.

Police want drivers to know there aren’t any legal repercussions for not paying.

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Instagram/alhambra_police

Instagram/alhambra_police

Scammers in Alhambra, California have been scamming drivers into paying for parking tickets that appear to be from the city.

The fake tickets will have a QR code that drivers can scan to pay the “City of Alhambra” through a fake website asking for credit card and banking information.

To make them even more convincing, the fake citation will even feature vehicle information, like a VIN, and the reason for being cited.

“Scammers create QR codes to trick people into visiting a fraudulent website or downloading malware that compromises their personal information,” the Alhambra Police Department wrote on Instagram .

The police department reminded drivers of the region that legitimate tickets from the department look vastly different from false citations.

In the same post, the department showed a photo of a real ticket.

The citation from the APD is yellow and comes in an envelope with the address of the city’s finance department.

This allows users to mail a check to the department if they choose to, as opposed to credit card only like the false citation .

The scammer’s ticket looks like a long receipt and does not come in an envelope.

Additionally, the APD noted the city allows people to pay online, but the website ends in .org, not .com.

“Remember, we will only refer you to our safe and secure city website: www.cityofalhambra.org,” the department continued.

Lastly, drivers who aren’t sure if they received a legitimate ticket can check the city’s parking database and enter their VIN to double-check.

Or, the department says, the finance department is a phone call away.

“If you are unsure, don’t hesitate to contact us!” they wrote.

Lastly, after drivers checked their city’s database and no records indicate a citation was issued, there aren’t any legal repercussions for trashing the ticket and not paying the fine.

A resident who prided themselves on being able to spot scams admitted the scammer’s ticket is convincing.

How to spot a fake parking ticket

Thieves sometimes go to great lengths to squeeze money from drivers

With parking ticket scams on the rise, it’s important to know how to tell the difference between a bogus ticket and a legitimate one.

Many parking enforcement agencies, like those employed by cities, will never ask people to pay for their tickets via apps like Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle.

A QR code should always make drivers cautious, as many times they lead to fake payment websites built by scammers to access banking or personal information.

It’s also wise to pay close attention to logos, as some scammers will even use fake logos close enough to a city’s official logo fooling those who don’t look closely.

Emails or text messages regarding parking citations should always be ignored, as most parking enforcement agencies will never use those mediums to collect a debt.

Other helpful tips for spotting false citations:

• Do some research on the lot you’re parking in, as signs are legally required to be posted to inform drivers on who is enforcing parking rules.
• Carefully examine the citation for any flaws – misspellings, incorrect logos, links, QR codes, etc.
• Evaluate the contact information on the ticket. Websites that belong to cities will always end in either .gov.
• Finally, pay with a card, as disputing an illegal charge is easier. Avoid mailing checks or cash to a suspect parking ticket.
• Look at a city’s ticketing database to double-check that you’ve been cited by an official.

Source: CBS affiliate WHNT

“Wow, I’m usually pretty good at spotting scams but this one I’d probably fall for,” wrote the user.

“That sucks for all the people they’ve scammed. Thanks for making us aware.”

Someone else wrote that scammers might have an easier time not resorting to scams.

“At this point wouldn’t it be easier to get an actual job vs trying to scam?” they asked.

The post made another driver realize they may have been scammed in the past.

“I remember the DMV used to use third parties to process online payments,” they wrote.

“I might have fallen for this even though it was a .com address.”