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Fraudulent QR codes imitating parking payment instructions were discovered in Whistler, B.C., and the municipality is warning the public that they might have fallen victim to credit card fraud.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) said the fraudulent QR codes were imitating pay-by-phone payment signs.
The stickers were discovered on pay parking terminals in Whistler Day Lots one to five, and also on signs along Main Street and Lorimer Road.
Staff believe the stickers were only up for 12 hours before the parking contractor notified the bylaw team.
A total of 24 stickers were discovered on Dec. 27, and all of them were removed by the next day.
“Nobody has come forward yet to say they were a victim,” said RMOW spokesperson Penny Buswell Lafrance.
Certified cybersecurity expert Claudiu Popa said people should be wary of sticker QR codes.
“If a QR code looks like a sticker, ignore it,” Popa said. “If it looks like you can peel it off yourself, then chances are it’s not legitimate.”
He does not believe this type of scam will go away anytime soon due to the ease fraudsters have in setting one up.
“It’s a very, very low barrier to entry. It’s basically free to get into it, and really, it’s the cost of a sticker that allows any fraudster to enter this lucrative business,” Popa said.
RMOW said the QR codes have been reported to the RCMP, but Popa said tracking down the culprits of the stickers can be difficult.
“They could literally travel to Canada for a couple of days, put up 1,000 stickers and go back to their home country and defraud Canadians for as long as the scam works,” Popa said.
Municipal parking in Whistler does not use QR codes for payment.
Staff will continue to monitor the parking areas to prevent this from happening.