Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has installed new pay-and-display machines in its town centre car parks following recent concerns over parking payment scams involving fake QR codes.
The new touchscreen machines are designed to improve the parking experience by being faster and more user-friendly, the local authority said.
They replace the previous machines, which had reached the end of their operational lifespan.
Visitors can continue to pay for parking via the official RingGo app as well.
The upgrade comes just weeks after the council issued a warning about fraudulent QR code stickers placed on some of the old parking machines.
These stickers redirected unsuspecting drivers to bogus websites where scammers attempted to steal payment details.
In a statement last month, the council said that they do not use QR codes for parking payments and urged residents to report any suspicious stickers.
“We DO NOT use QR codes for parking payments. Any displayed on our parking machines are bogus – they are placed by scammers to fool people into entering their payment details into a fraudulent website,” the council said.
The scam, part of a growing trend known as 'quishing,' has affected drivers across the UK, including areas such as Barking and Dagenham, Northumberland, and South Tyneside.
The RAC has warned drivers to remain vigilant and to use only official payment methods, such as cash, card, or verified apps like RingGo.
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Council representatives encourage residents to contact their parking team or Action Fraud if they encounter any suspicious QR codes on parking machines.
Meanwhile, the new machines aim to provide a safer and more efficient solution for visitors to Basingstoke’s car parks.
For more information about parking in Basingstoke, visit the council's website or download the RingGo app.
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