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Q: I was shopping last week at the mall, and when I returned to my car, a citation was attached to my window. I’m confused about why I was fined $150 because I was parked in a regular spot and was only gone for about an hour. Reading over the ticket, my charge was marked as a “parking violation” and nothing else. The “pay online” URL took me to an official-looking site asking me to submit my credit card info and the citation number to pay off my ticket. I’m unsure how I’d do a background check on this.
A: Yeah, that’s more than likely a scam if I’ve ever seen one, based on your description of the website and the way the ticket itself was vague. Just in case, I would check with the admin office of the mall you were at and your local police department’s non-emergency line to verify the legitimacy of the citation. Here’s Better Business Bureau’s advice regarding avoiding suspicious parking tickets.
Know before you park. Before visiting a new place, research available parking and local parking requirements. Tourists with out-of-state plates are often the preferred target for parking scams because they must familiarize themselves with local parking laws.
Examine the citation carefully. Scammers can imitate logos and city office names, but an imitation website is usually where the scam comes to light. Do an internet search for the city's official parking ticket websites and compare what you find to what's on the ticket. Remember that government sites should end in a .gov or .ca (in Canada) designation, and if there is a payment page, it should always have a secure connection.
Double-check the name checks should be made out to. If the ticket allows for payment by check, take a closer look at the address the check should be sent and how it should be addressed. Checks should generally be made to a specific government organization, not a string of initials or personal names.
Pay traffic citations by credit card when possible. It will be easier to contest fraudulent charges if you discover you've been scammed down the road. Always keep a close eye on your credit card activity.
Just to be sure, you should also make sure your phone/computer’s antivirus software is up to date, as fake websites like the ticket one you mentioned can spread malware onto your devices just from visiting the page. For more information on avoiding the latest tricks scammers are trying to pull, visit BBB.org and check out our extensive collection of articles on the latest news and tips.
