19-year-old put fake parking tickets with QR codes for payment on vehicles, CA cops say
A 19-year-old man is accused of issuing fake parking tickets in California, police said.
Reports were made about bogus parking tickets on Dec. 22 near a beach in Santa Cruz, the city police department said in a Dec. 23 news release.
Police said parking tickets were found on Dec. 21 with a QR code leading to a website to make a payment.
A photo of the fake parking ticket shows it was titled “Santa Cruz Parking Pay” with palm trees graphics. The scam ticket charged $42 for a meter violation.
But a photo of a real Santa Cruz parking ticket for an expired meter says “City of Santa Cruz Notice of Parking Violation,” and it costs $43.
Police found the man accused of giving out the bogus tickets near the beach area and arrested him on charges of unlawful use of a computer system and attempted fraud. “Evidence relevant to the scam” was found in his vehicle, police said.
It’s not clear how many fake tickets were issued or how many people made a payment, police said. The man told police he didn’t get any payments.
Santa Cruz is about 75 miles south of San Francisco.
This story was originally published December 26, 2022 at 12:30 PM with the headline "19-year-old put fake parking tickets with QR codes for payment on vehicles, CA cops say."
