Parking Meter QR Code Scam: How to Spot a Fake Code Before You Pay

You park, walk up to the meter, and see a QR code that says "Scan to pay." It looks official, and it is faster than downloading an app. But in cities across the country, scammers are printing their own QR code stickers and placing them over the real ones. Scan the fake code and you land on a lookalike payment page built to steal your card number.

The Federal Trade Commission warned drivers about this on September 3, 2026, and cities including Raleigh, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina have warned residents after finding fake codes on their meters. A related version in Texas uses fake parking tickets left on windshields with a QR code to "pay your fine."

How the Scam Works

1. A scammer prints a QR code sticker and puts it on a meter, a pay station, or a parking sign, often right over the city's real code.
2. You scan it, and your phone opens a website that looks like a parking payment page.
3. You enter your license plate and card details to pay for parking.
4. The scammer keeps your card information. Your parking is not actually paid, so you may also get a real ticket.

Because the QR code hides the web address until you scan it, you cannot see where you are going the way you can with a printed link. Security researchers call this "quishing," short for QR phishing.

6 Signs a Parking QR Code Is Fake

1. It is a sticker stuck on top of something

Run your finger over the code. A sticker that is peeling, crooked, bubbled, or covering another code is a strong warning sign.

2. The link preview does not match your city

When you point your camera at a QR code, most phones show the web address before you open it. The FTC recommends checking that preview for misspellings or swapped letters. If it is not your city's site or a parking app you recognize, do not tap it.

3. The meter itself names a different app

Most meters print the name of the official parking app directly on the machine. If the QR code sends you somewhere else, trust the printed name, not the sticker.

4. It asks you to download an app from a link

Real parking apps come from the App Store or Google Play. A QR code that pushes you to download an app from a website can install something harmful on your phone.

5. The page asks for more than it should

Paying for parking needs your plate number, zone, and a card. A page that also wants your date of birth, Social Security number, or bank login is stealing information.

6. A "parking ticket" has a QR code to pay

If you find a ticket on your windshield, do not pay through a QR code on it. Look up your city's official parking or court website yourself and search for the ticket number there.

How to Pay for Parking Safely

• Use the official parking app named on the meter, downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
• Pay at the meter with a card or coins when you can.
• If you must use a website, type the address printed on the meter or on your city's website instead of scanning.
• Keep your phone's software up to date, and turn on two-factor authentication for your email and bank accounts.

If You Already Paid Through a Fake Code

1. Call your card issuer now. Report the charge as fraud and ask for a new card number.
2. Watch your statements for any new or recurring charges over the next few weeks.
3. If you created an account or reused a password on the fake site, change that password everywhere you use it.
4. Tell your city's parking office where the fake code is so they can remove it.
5. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

A QR code is just a link you cannot read until it is too late. Treat parking codes the same way you would treat a link in a text from a stranger: check where it goes before you enter anything, and when in doubt, use the official app or pay at the meter.

Sources: FTC consumer alert, "See a QR code parked somewhere? Don't scan it…yet!" (September 3, 2026); local warnings from the City of Raleigh (WRAL) and the City of Columbia (WLTX).