INDIANAPOLIS — The Better Business Bureau is sending out a warning about the latest version of a parking ticket scam that involves creative crooks using handheld technology.
According to the BBB, scammers are using handheld printers to create realistic-looking parking tickets before leaving them on car windshields. Places like Santa Cruz, California and Jefferson City, Missouri have seen recent cases.
In the Santa Cruz case, a 19-year old scammer was able to use the handheld printer to create tickets that included the make, model and license plate of the vehicle, along with the time, date and location of the vehicle.
In that case, fake tickets included a QR code that sent victims to a fake website to make payments. Those payments were actually going directly to the scammer. Other versions of the scam involve asking the victim for payment through PayPal or a non-government website.
Paying fake tickets not only cost you money but can also cost your personal information. Making the payment often requires proving your name, address, phone number and sometimes banking information.
While the tickets may look real, even including official-looking logos, the BBB says you should compare the payment website on the ticket to the city’s official webpage for paying such fines. Those governmental websites typically end in “.gov.” And paying an official citation should no require so much personal information.
Here’s the BBB’s quick list of steps to take before paying a traffic ticket, especially if you know you had time left on your meter:
How to avoid parking ticket scams
- Know before you park. Before visiting a new place, research available parking and local parking requirements. Tourists with out-of-state plates are often the preferred target for parking scams because they need to familiarize themselves with local parking laws.
- Examine the citation carefully. Scammers can imitate logos and city office names, but an imitation website is usually where the scam comes to light. Do an internet search for the city’s official parking ticket websites and compare what you find to what’s on the ticket. Keep in mind that government sites should end in a “.gov” or “.ca” (in Canada) designation, and if there is a payment page, it should always have a secure connection.
- Double-check the name checks should be made out to. If the ticket allows for payment by check, take a closer look at the address the check should be sent and how it should be addressed. Checks should generally be made to a specific government organization, not a string of initials or personal names.
- Pay traffic citations by credit card when possible. It will be easier to contest fraudulent charges if you discover you’ve been scammed down the road.
