Leicester QR code car park scam linked to Russia

The council has said it does not use QR codes on its car park machines including this one in Belgrave Road

People parking in council car parks in Leicester have been warned not to fall victim to a QR code scam.

Leicester City Council said it has been cleaning up its pay-and-display machines after fraudsters attached stickers to a number of them.

The stickers carried a QR (quick-response) code to trick people intending to pay by mobile phone, by having them send their money to the wrong place.

The code stuck on some of Leicester's machines links to a website address purchased this month, through a Russian domain name registration firm.

The scam website is associated with an email address also registered in Russia, which has been linked to numerous scams since at least 2021.

The council said it does not use QR codes, and anyone who had scanned one was advised to contact their bank and Leicestershire Police.

A spokesperson said: “We've removed all of the stickers we've found - if you're aware of any, please email [e-mail].”