Staff Report
Unpaid parking tickets can happen to anyone — and scammers are exploiting this fact through a new phishing scheme.
This latest scam tricks victims into believing they have overlooked a parking fine, prompting them to pay immediately. The goal is simple: to steal your credit card details and personal information.
How the Parking Fee Scam Works
This scam relies on fear — the fear of unpaid fines and increasing late fees. Scammers send fake text messages posing as city officials, claiming you have an outstanding parking violation.
The message typically contains a link to what appears to be a government website, urging you to settle your “unpaid parking invoice” before additional charges apply.
Once you click the link, you are directed to a fraudulent site where you are asked to provide personal details, including your billing address and credit card number. If you comply, the scammers instantly gain access to your financial information.
Real-Life Example of the Scam
In Salt Lake City, one phishing text read:
“This is a notice from Salt Lake City. Your vehicle has an unpaid parking invoice of $4.35. To avoid a late fee of 355, please settle your balance promptly. To avoid late fees, access your file by typing the following link into your browser:”
The link closely resembled the city’s official parking portal but was entirely fake.
Widespread Scam Across U.S. Cities
According to Bleeping Computer, these text scams first emerged in December 2024 and have since spread across major U.S. cities, including:
Boston
Denver
Detroit
Milwaukee
New York City
Salt Lake City
Charlotte
San Diego
San Francisco
In some versions of the scam, the text includes a clickable link that uses an open redirect through Google.com, bypassing iOS security measures designed to block suspicious links from unknown senders.
How to Identify a Parking Fee Scam
While this scam is not particularly sophisticated, it preys on self-doubt — making you second-guess whether you might have forgotten about a parking ticket. To protect yourself, consider these warning signs:
1. Recent Parking History
Ask yourself: Have you used public parking recently? If not, the message is clearly fake.
2. Legitimate Contact Methods
City governments rarely text about unpaid parking fines. Official text messages usually come from short five-digit numbers, not full phone numbers or international ones (like “+44”).
3. Suspicious Links
Be cautious of messages instructing you to copy and paste a web address into your browser. Genuine government agencies provide clickable links to secure, verified websites — not plain-text URLs.
4. Grammar and Formatting Errors
Look out for mistakes, such as misspelled words or misplaced symbols — like the dollar sign appearing after the amount (“4.35$”) instead of before it. These errors are a telltale sign of a scam.
Protect Yourself from Text Scams
Do not click unknown links — always visit official government websites directly.
Verify through official channels — contact your city’s parking authority if you are unsure.
Report suspicious texts — forward scam messages to 7726 (SPAM) or report them to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
By staying alert, you can prevent scammers from using fake parking fines to access your personal and financial information.
