With the recent introduction of Ringo parking at Limpsfield and Sanderstead Road shops, plus elsewhere in Croydon, readers may be interested in the following alert from Croydon Trading Standards.
The main point is that CROYDON COUNCIL ONLY USES THE RINGO APP FOR PAYMENTS SO USERS SHOULD NOT SCAN ANY QR CODES.
CROYDON TRADING STANDARDS
COMMUNITY ALERT
Hello, Goodbye
In the aftermath of the decision of LB Croydon to base all parking charges within the borough on the use of the RingGo APP, it is a good time to remind drivers of a couple of the practices by which scammers may attempt to con you out of money.
The RingGo parking APP is a convenient way for most residents and visitors to pay for their parking. The app is free to use on both Apple and Android devices and where free parking tariffs apply, these will still be available through the app.
Other than the name of the person parking and the vehicle registration, personal information, such as card details, does not need to be stored on the app. While the council does not charge for using RingGo, some default settings may mean that you pay a small charge to RingGo for reminders. These notifications can be easily disabled in the app settings.
However, in recent months councils around the UK have reported that fake QR codes have been stuck on their parking signs as part of what is termed “quishing” scams. The codes lead drivers to a fraudulent website where, instead of paying for their parking, the driver actually shares their payment details and information with scammers.
Croydon only uses the RingGo APP for making payments and if residents see a QR code affixed to any parking meter within the borough they are unauthorised and should never be used. If you do see a QR code, please report it to the Council.
When looking online for the RingGo APP, residents should take care not be duped by spoof RingGo sites, which after you google the APP may ask for a ‘registration fee’ before attempting to take money from bank accounts. To avoid this, residents are advised to visit the official APP Store and download the APP from there.
Finally, drivers falling foul of this scam mistakenly believe they’ve paid to park their car which may also lead to a costly parking fine as the payment hasn’t actually gone through to the legitimate firm operating the car park.
You should also report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
Further advice can be obtained by emailing
Sanderstead Residents' Association 