You might want to avoid that QR code plastered on a parking meter the next time you visit a place in Texas (or any other state, just to be on the safe side). Also known as Quick Response codes, they are a fairly common medium for scammers to get rich quickly by tricking people into paying them or implanting malware. Now, they are pasting it on parking meters to earn some dough by conning unsuspecting drivers.
As per aFox Newsreport, 29 parking pay stations in Austin have been found plastered with fraudulent QR codes. For the unaware, parking stations in Austin only accept payments via the official ParkATXapp, coins, and banking cards — both credit and debit. The Austin Police Department has already issued a warning about the ongoing scam on social media platforms, but it appears that the scam has spread to more cities in Texas.
🚨Scam Alert🚨APD Financial Crimes detectives are investigating after fraudulent QR code stickers were discovered on City of Austin public parking meters. People attempting to pay for parking using those QR codes may have been directed to a fraudulent website and made a payment.pic.twitter.com/Gb8gytCYn7
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police)July 01, 2025
The San Antonio Police Department has also released a similarwarningand is currently investigating the parking meter QR scam. The Massachusetts State Police has sent out acautionary messageas well, asking residents and visitors to avoid QR codes they come across in parking stations. Michigan’s St. Joseph Department of Public Safetysaysit has received reports of fraudulent parking tickets, too.
In an officialpress release, the city of Houston warned citizens that street-parking pay stations do not accept QR code payments, which means you should stay away from them if you come across any. The ParkHouston team has launched an inspection drive to check over 900 pay stations for such malicious QR codes, although no victims have been reported so far. If you’re in Houston, you can pay your parking bill in coin via theParkHouston app, or banking cards. As perABC News, officials had spotted five locations where scammy QR codes were affixed. Residents have been asked to report such scams at theparking@houstontx.govemail address.
What if you’ve already been duped?
The QR code scam can hurt users in many ways. The most obvious one is when a scammer gets the parking ticket cost deposited in his account. In such a scenario, only a few dollars are gone from your wallet. However, scanning a suspicious QR code might also redirect users to a web page where they may be tricked into submitting sensitive financial details such as credit card numbers and bank account information, among others.
When that happens, the scammer can either sell this data to bad actors or even wipe your account by initiating a transaction after extracting the PIN. The chances of harm are vast. Law enforcement officials have advised folks to stay vigilant, and if they suspect that a fraud has happened, the victim should immediately file a report.
you’re able to do so by reporting to the Federal Bureau Of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) by visitingwww.IC3.govon your phone or computer. It is also advised that the victim immediately report the incident to their local police department, either via a phone call or in-person (if the existing COVID-19 protocols allow it).
If you’ve fallen victim to a parking meter QR scam in Austin, call the 3-1-1 helpline or visitwww.ireportaustin.comto file a report of a credit card breach. Plus, you should try to reach your banking institution and ask them to block any transaction in your name or linked to your bank wallet. Once it’s done, users should follow it up by changing passwords for their online banking account and credit card PIN.
How to avoid QR code scams?
Scanning a QR codemight seem harmless, but it is nothing short of a massive leap of faith. We do not know what’s hidden behind those dots and lines nor what kind of websites they will lead users to once scanned. But ever since the pandemic hit, QR codes have skyrocketed in popularity.Take, for example, a restaurantwhere you no longer have to touch a physical menu. Just scan a QR code and the menu opens on your phone. The same goes for making payments after the meal or any other in-store purchase.
In the resurgence of QR codes, scammers also saw an opportunity. In October last year, Better Business Bureau in Minnesota and North Dakota warned about QR code scams. A month later, the FBI also issued awarningabout shady QR codes at cryptocurrency ATMs that could be used to deposit funds in a malicious party’s wallet. Here are a few precautions you can take to avoid falling victim to QR code scams in general — and not just at a parking station:
