How to spot a fake parking ticket and avoid a costly scam

It's a sinking feeling - returning to your car after a day out or nipping to the shops to find a yellow parking ticket slapped on your windscreen. Did you use the car park without paying? Or perhaps spend a few extra hours in the shops, overstaying the time limit?

For a growing number of drivers it's neither as these parking charge notices (PCNs) are actually fake tickets placed there by scammers in a bid to drain the victim's bank account, This is Money can reveal. Motorists have long been plagued with scam parking fine texts and dodgy QR codes stuck to parking payment meters. But just as motorists are cottoning on to these vile tricks, scammers have turned to old school methods of ripping off innocent motorists.

Tricksters are now placing phoney yellow tickets on the windscreen of cars in a cruel bid to con drivers out of potentially hundreds or thousands of pounds and also steal their data. The fake notices have popped up in hotspots around the nation. And it's a growing problem...

Increasing numbers of drivers are being sucked into the convincing scam, experts reveal. Paul Hampson, fraud specialist at Liverpool-based CEL Solicitors, has noticed a growing number of cases pass by his desk. He says: 'We originally thought these cases were isolated but the number of clients coming to us has significantly increased. We're now seeing a clear pattern – same scam, different postcodes, often with the same cloned branding.' The scam tickets will look remarkably similar to the real yellow tickets. And the notice is just as convincing when opened. 'These scams are worryingly sophisticated. Everything about these fake tickets looks authentic - the branding, the language, even the payment site. We've seen tickets that use real registration plates, correct car park names and even cloned council logos. Victims often don't realise until their card has been drained.'

When unsuspecting drivers open the fake ticket, they'll be greeted with a logo from a legitimate parking company or the local council and often their own registration number. The crooks will include real information about the car they have gathered through publicly available data or by looking at car number plates in a car park. Plus, there will either be a website link or a QR code to a payment portal to strip you of your cash. Only £60 or £70 will be asked for – but once you enter your card details into the fake portal, fraudsters can run wild with the information and make larger purchases.

If you live in or visit a busy area, it's vital to keep a keen eye out for the bogus tickets, Mr Hampson warns. 'We've found it's often places with heavy footfall – retail parks, commuter hubs, or busy seafronts – where these scammers thrive. They rely on people being in a rush and not questioning the fine.' Reports of the cruel trick have emerged in London as swathes of these bogus PCNs have been found in Peckham, Islington and Stratford. Plus, Southampton City Council was even forced to issue a warning after empty PCNs were found on vehicles.

The British Parking Association has also acknowledged rising reports of these fraudulent tickets mimicking real notices – on private land, and in pay and display areas. But it also reveals the fake tickets can be used by drivers to park anywhere they like without paying for parking, as one user has gloated on social media, or to deter others from parking on their road. A Welsh town was last year plagued with phoney yellow parking tickets as residents tried to stop others parking in their neighbourhoods. But the scammers have more dangerous motives. And what's worse is the fake PCNs are easily available online for those with malicious intent.

If you find a yellow PCN on your car with a QR code to pay the fine, do not scan it. Legitimate tickets will rarely, if ever, use a QR to accept payments. If you are directed to a web address to make a payment, verify it first. Another trick you can use to check the validity of a ticket is to look for urgent statements, for example, if the PCN warns you must make immediate payment to escape legal action. Mr Hampson says: 'Legitimate parking fines usually allow an appeal process – scammers want you to act fast and skip that step.'

If in doubt, you can always contact the council or parking company independently to verify the fine. You should take a photograph of the fine to show the parking company. Report the scam to Action Fraud. If you have already used the fake PCN to pay the fine, you should contact your bank and freeze your card. Mr Hampson says: 'These criminals are clever, but the same rules apply - slow down, don't pay under pressure, and verify before clicking or scanning anything. A fake PCN might cost you £70 on the surface - but thousands in stolen data.'

It comes as another callous new scam targeting motorists has popped up in Oxford. Scammers had attached skimming devices – which are devices used to capture card details without knowledge of the holder, typically at an ATM – on some of the payment machines.

Three drivers said money had been taken – or were attempted to be withdrawn – from their account after using the payment machines at a city centre car park. One telltale sign is a 'card declined' message on the machine, officials say. While only the Oxford case is currently known, the British Parking Association warns this cruel trick could be attempted elsewhere in future. It is asking motorists to be aware of this scam when paying for parking – and to report anything unusual to authorities and Action Fraud. Have you been hit with a fake parking ticket? Email: [email protected].