About 200 fake QR code stickers placed by unknown scammers have been recovered from parking meters in downtown Orlando, according to a news release from the Orlando Police Department.
The counterfeit codes direct users to a fraudulent site and ask for their financial information, instead of directing them to the legitimate parking site parkmobile.io.
“These fraudulent codes direct a user’s device to a website where their personal information can be stolen,” OPD Financial Crimes Sergeant Michael Fiorentino-Tyburski said in a video within the release.
The real QR code is printed directly onto the sticker with a green background while the fraudulent sticker has a white background and easily peels off, Fiorentino-Tyburski said.
OPD instructs the public to inspect meters while parking downtown and ensure websites that the codes direct to are legitimate. Real codes should direct users to the website, parkmobile.io.
Fiorentino-Tyburski said OPD is working with the city’s parking division to inspect all the meters in the downtown core and remove any remaining fake stickers.
OPD says the public should take precaution by inspecting the QR code for any tampering or stickers, avoid scanning suspicious codes, use official parking apps or payment methods instead of scanning the meter, and report any suspicious or altered QR codes to OPD.
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This article appears in Summer Guide 2025.