Parking Meter and Machine Scams
We have been alerted to a scam in another part of the country involving parking meters.
The scam happens when you are approached by someone who pleads with you to help them with a parking meter that won’t accept their foreign card.
They ask you to use your card to make their car park payment, and they will give you the cash.
Once you have entered your card and PIN number, your card will not come out of the machine. They have used a device to capture it. They ring who they say is the meter company who tells you they will send an engineer to fix the machine and will contact you later to return your card.
Once you have left, they retrieve your card and use it.
Protect Your Money
If you enter your card into any form of payment machine and are unable to retrieve it for any reason, you should immediately contact your bank to stop the card.
Whenever you enter your PIN number, ensure that nobody can see the number – use your other hand to block the view of any onlookers.
If you are approached by someone in the manner described above, please decline their request and report the suspicious behaviour to police.
Message Sent By
Ian Stacey (Police, Neighbourhood Policing Administrator, Chiltern & South Bucks)
The scam happens when you are approached by someone who pleads with you to help them with a parking meter that won’t accept their foreign card.
They ask you to use your card to make their car park payment, and they will give you the cash.
Once you have entered your card and PIN number, your card will not come out of the machine. They have used a device to capture it. They ring who they say is the meter company who tells you they will send an engineer to fix the machine and will contact you later to return your card.
Once you have left, they retrieve your card and use it.
Protect Your Money
If you enter your card into any form of payment machine and are unable to retrieve it for any reason, you should immediately contact your bank to stop the card.
Whenever you enter your PIN number, ensure that nobody can see the number – use your other hand to block the view of any onlookers.
If you are approached by someone in the manner described above, please decline their request and report the suspicious behaviour to police.
Message Sent By
Ian Stacey (Police, Neighbourhood Policing Administrator, Chiltern & South Bucks)
