Southampton City Council has issued a stark warning after reports of fake parking tickets being placed on cars.
Multiple residents posted on social media last week that they had seen suspicious looking parking ticket on their vehicles.
One in particular showed a photo of their car on Bitterne Road East, which had a ticket stuck to the windscreen with no paperwork inside.
The council has since told the Echo that these incidents "highlight the potential for fraudsters to attempt something like this to deceive people".
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On the Bitterne Road East incident, Councillor Eamonn Keogh told the Echo that the council believes an "unknown person" first received a "genuine penalty charge notice" before removing the paperwork and putting the plastic envelope on another car.
Cllr Keogh said: "It does highlight the potential for fraudsters to attempt something like this to deceive people.
"The same advice for more general scams applies here too. Look for spelling or grammatical errors in the documentation, scammers often use these deliberately to ‘weed out’ people that they don’t think they could take advantage of."
The ward member for Peartree reminded residents that genuine penalty charge notices must be paid within 28 days, with a 50 per cent reduction if done within two weeks.
Any parking ticket that has different time periods, especially if attempting to get a payment much sooner, is "suspect".
Councillor Eamonn Keogh warned drivers to look out for 'suspect' tickets. (Image: Cristiano Magaglio) Cllr Keogh said: “Ultimately, if you have any doubts, don’t use any contact details on the documentation.
"Come into Gateway or get our phone number from our website to talk to someone in person, or you can use the form on our website as well.
"By making that break from the document and independently checking with us, we will be able to confirm if any penalty charge notice is genuine or not.”
READ MORE: Fake QR code scam on pay and display machines in Southampton
Another parking scam to look out for is fake QR codes being placed on parking machines, which was a problem in Southampton last year, as previously reported by the Echo.
Fake QR codes were being placed on machines, which when scanned were taking users to a fraudulent website, risking money being taken from their account without verifying their parking.
A spokesperson for Southampton City Council previously told the Echo: "The council would ask that users are vigilant and ensure that they have the official PayByPhone app or pay using the machine directly. Do not scan any QR code stickers that have been stuck to machines or surrounding signs.”
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