West Mercia Police reminding people to be alert to car park scams
Wychavon District Council reported last week several residents had fallen victim to one involving text messages being sent to people saying they'd parked illegally and need to pay a fine
West Mercia Police say they are aware some people have been impacted by a parking scam in a part of Worcestershire and are reminding people to be alert to them.
Wychavon District Council reported last week several residents had fallen victim to one involving text messages being sent to people saying they'd parked illegally and need to pay a fine.
Civil enforcement officers in Wychavon also discovered fake QR codes stuck on official parking signage for the RingGo pay-by-mobile app in various car parks across the area.
The codes are said to take people to a fake payment website, allowing fraudsters to steal personal information and bank details.
Rebecca Smith from West Mercia Police's cyber crime unit told us previously it is a sort of scam they are starting to see more of and it's vital people report it if they see one.
"What you've identified as a scam, someone else might not," she said.
"That's why we want to encourage people to report these scams as it helps in so many ways when you do report things, for example, these reports held build databases of known scams, numbers, email addresses and techniques.
"Mobile networks work together then to block suspicious numbers, which reduces the number of scams that come into the UK and also helps us to all protect the vulnerable members of our community.
On how people can spot if something might be a scam she added: "Parking fines are not issued via text message or email, official paper notices are issued either stuck to the windscreen of the vehicle, given to the driver or posted to the registered keeper."
The council has also warned residents to be on the look out for any of these scams and that it does not issue parking fines by text message or by any other digital means.
Councillor Emma Stokes, who is Wychavon’s executive board member for resources, investment and innovation, said: “To be absolutely clear, Wychavon will never send a parking fine by a text message or other digital means.
"If you receive a message like this, please report it, if you’re unsure, then please check with our parking team first.
“We don’t want any more of our residents to be caught out by these despicable fraudsters who are unfairly targeting law-abiding motorists and undermining confidence in legitimate parking enforcement.”
Recent data data did reveal a rise in the number of reported QR code scams across the West Mercia region.
Figures from Action Fraud showed that 37 offences were reported between 2019 to 2024 to West Mercia Police.
The biggest increase came in 2024, where 17 were reported compared to eight back in 2023.