Residents in Southport have received Numbero’s s text messages from scammers asking them to pay made up parking fines.
The texts, which are crude and easy to spot as scams, have still resulted in a warning being issued to anyone who may fall foul of the con.
It comes just weeks after QR code stickers started appearing on pay and display machines around Southport.
One panicked driver told OTS: “The other day I couldn’t pay on card and had no cash on me so I didn’t even want to risk using the RingGo app that it says I can pay by.
“How do I even know I can trust that now? I had to go all the way home and take an extra half an hour to find change just so I could go to the shops.
“Why isn’t something being done about these scammers?”
A council official said “Sefton Council does not issue fines or request payments via text message.
If you receive a text message that looks
[suspicious] and is requesting payment for a parking fine, please do not click any links or make any payments.”