Be Aware
Drivers have been warned to be extra vigilant when parking in Newcastle city centre after a motorist had money taken from their bank account after trying to pay for a car park. They fell victim to the scam when trying to buy a ticket operated by a parking app used in Newcastle ‘s council car parks.
The company responsible for the official parking payment app at the car park – PayByPhone – has warned motorists that several bogus websites have been created in an attempt to impersonate theirs and dupe drivers into entering their bank details. An investigation was launched after three payments of £1, £59.99 and £170 were taken from the victim’s bank account shortly after they tried to pay to park.
The victim told press that they had lost a total of £230 in the scam, which used an application they had downloaded to a smartphone. Instead of paying the £1 a day official fee, the three payments were taken by a fraudster.