On Thursday morning, as I parked in Crompton Street, Derby, Pay and Display car park, I noticed QR stickers had been applied to the Pay & Display card/coin machine.

THESE WERE SCAM CODES.

The actual display board outlines how you can pay for parking, no QR codes.

ALWAYS be alert when considering QR codes - NEVER use them if they appear to be stickers on machines, or stuck to information boards, rather than part of the official information board. Check that a QR sticker hasn’t been placed over the legitimate one.

Also, if you are going to pay by app, only ever search on your app store NOT google/internet search engine. Fake similarly sounding results will appear at the top of the search lists.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT : Sponsored ads appear at the top of search results – this merely means they have been paid for, NOT that they are legitimate!

So what happens?

As we understand it, victims are being caught out by following fake QR codes or searching the web for parking apps and are encountering misleading third-party ads with legitimate parking app promotions.

Believing they are providing card details to pay for parking, in actual fact, you are signing up for hidden subscriptions, rather than paying to park.

Always check to see that your parking payment has been made by checking your card/account. Legitimate apps/sites/phone lines will result in a text or email confirming your parking payment and expiry time.

If you find any additional payments taken, please contact your card issuer and report as many details as possible to www.actionfraud.police.uk

Check your emails regularly and seek advice if you are receiving notifications regarding unknown subscriptions.

This is happening across many areas of the UK, not just Derby / Derbyshire.

(Please note : the stickers were removed, and company advised)