Phishing QR codes displayed on parking meters is the new strategy of fraudsters discovered by the police force of Austin, Texas, that takes advantage of people rushing to park or short on cash for payment.
The new phishing campaign deceives drivers with phishing QR codes since many want a hassle-free parking experience. According to the police, someone placed the fraudulent QR codes on the side of the meters and believes that these QR codes are an attempt by fraudsters to phish financial information from unaware drivers.
The authorities immediately detected this phishing tactic because the payment method for parking meters in Austin, Texas, is through coin payments, cards, or mobile apps only. Thus, the QR codes placed on the side of the parking meter may very well be for some nefarious acts.
The QR codes redirect unsuspected drivers to a fraudulent site, requesting payment details with the false assurance that their parking session and transaction would be accomplished by the meter.
Also, Austin City, Texas, conducted a parking meter inspection after the San Antonio officials advised them that an identical QR code scam happened in their city. After the assessment of the Austin police department, they found hundreds of parking meters with a QR code attachment last December.
In a recent report, the San Antonio PD stated that the webpage provided by the QR codes pretended to take payments for a parking session. Still, the money falls in the scammers’ pockets rather than the city’s treasury. Therefore, car drivers are not the only victim of the scam, but the town as well.
It is still unknown if the phishing tactics in Austin and San Antonio are linked to each other or just a replica of a separate threat group. Whatever the case may be, authorities are aware that the scam is not difficult to copy since most threat actors worldwide can handle complex attacks.
In light of the recent issue, the Austin PD advises every driver in their city to pay their parking fees by way of coins, card, or mobile app. They also remind everyone to not engage in any form of payment if their city does not mandate it.
They also encourage people to report unauthorised individuals who will attempt to tamper with parking meters.
