How To Avoid Airport Parking Scams
8th Nov 2023 Motoring
2 min read
According to Google Trend Data, the search term Airport Parking has received a 132.31% uplift in the past month alone. As reports of parking officials using the consumers car for personal use circulate, along with car park customers reporting that their card details have been stolen via payment QR Codes here, Vantage Leasing reveals how to avoid the most common airport scams that are circulating the UK.
The Meet & Greet
The widely used
airport meet and greet service sees consumers meet their parking valet at the
airport, handover their keys and meet them again when they return. This means
the consumer doesn’t need to park their car. Recent accounts from meet and
greet users claim that their cars tracker reveals that their car has been
driven whilst they are away, broken speed limits and even parked thousands of
miles away from the airport.
To avoid the Meet & Greet scam:
-
Use your phone to take a picture of
your car’s millage. The image will be time stamped which will serve as evidence
that the details in the image are accurate. When you return, if the millage has
risen a substantial amount, you may wish to investigate if your car has been
used in the time you are away.
The Safe and Secure
3rd party parking operators often offer
parking in safe and secure locations leading consumers to believe that their
car will be parked in a secured Car park. However, this scam sees the car left
in an open residential street, often leading residents to report the vehicle to
the council.
To avoid the Safe & Secure Scam:
-
Before booking with the parking
company, use Google Earth to view where the car will be parked. This will
ensure that the location aligns with description used on the brands website.
-
If the company uses a meet and greet
service, don’t be afraid to ask them to send you a picture of the vehicle once
it has been parked. This will ensure that it’s placed where they say it is.
The QR Code Scam
When jetting off on a
weekend break, some may choose to use a pay and display parking option. Many
pay and display car parks now require you to pay online by scanning a QR code.
Recent reports reveal that QR codes are being targeted by scammers who are replacing
the QR code with their own. The code then directs the user to a fake site where
they put in their payment details and therefore handing their details over to
the scammer.
To avoid the QR Code
Scam
-
Only use payment information that is
clearly displayed on official signs. If the information provided appears to be
glued on, beware that this may be the product of a scammer. If cash payment is
not available, try to pay by phone. This way, you will be able to Google the
phone number beforehand to ensure that it’s a legitimate payment method.
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