Passport, the technology leader in parking compliance and curbside payment solutions, is alerting North American cities about a new scam that could potentially make parkers victims of fraud.
The scam involves fraudulent text messages claiming to be from a city, notifying individuals of an outstanding parking invoice, and requesting payment via a link. These messages are currently being sent to users in the cities of Charlotte, NC, and Boston, MA and Houston, TX.
To safeguard consumers, cities should communicate this potential issue with a warning and clarification on how consumers can confirm if the request is valid.
Passport suggests that cities inform residents that:
- They can verify any outstanding citations through the city’s parking portal. By entering a license plate number, users can view all citations, see related photographs, and either appeal or pay charges directly through the secure online system.
- The city will only use official methods to notify residents of parking citation charges. This includes a physical citation on the windshield and letters via USPS if the citation is unpaid.
- The city will never send payment links via text message or request payment through unofficial channels.