RCMP, City of Vernon, say parking meter scam not active at the moment

Scam not currently active

Photo: Darren Handschuh

When paying for parking in downtown Vernon, residents might want to make sure they’re paying the right people.

Recent posts in the Vernon & Area Community Forum Facebook page claim QR codes have been posted on city parking meters to scam residents trying to pay. But the city and RCMP say it hasn't been a problem.

"Nothing of this nature has been reported to us," said Const. Chris Terleski with the Vernon RCMP. "Scammers are very creative and people need to beware and remain vigilant whenever making any type of financial transactions online."

City of Vernon spokesperson Carolyn Baldrige says the last complaint she’s aware of is from the fall. She says, at the time, one complaint was made to the RCMP about false QR codes.

“No other complaints have been made to the City and no other false codes have been located. The City’s Bylaw Compliance Traffic Team proactively checks parking metres and signage,” said Baldridge.

“The City of Vernon and our third party provider that manages the City’s mobile parking, PayByPhone do not currently use QR codes within the parking system.”

In theory, in a parking meter scam, a resident would scan the QR code and input their credit card information giving people all of the information to use.