Con Artists Use Fake Parking Tickets To Steal Identities

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WLTX) -- You've heard of internet and mail scams. But what about scamming people with parking tickets? Well, now some computer hackers have started writing their own. They're hoping to steal your personal account information along the way.

The next time you get a parking ticket, before you rush to pay it, you may want to ask yourself if it's real.

"If anyone gets a parking ticket that says you can pay this online, through some third party company, it's not legitimate," says Columbia Parking Services Director, John Spade.

"We're aware of the scam in other cities,"says Spade. Con artists may be trying to steal your personal information by using fake parking tickets. We showed one to Spade.

"Hopefully people will see right on the face that this is not a valid ticket," says Spade. The bogus ticket reads: This vehicle is in violation of standard parking regulations.

Spade wants drivers to know how the scheme works. "People are using bogus parking tickets to get someone to go on their computer online and download a virus," says Spade.

The fake tickets direct drivers to photographs supposedly of the vehicle and the violation. Drivers are instructed to download a toolbar to view more information.

But once installed, so too is a potential computer virus. The scammers can also get any personal information if you enter your credit card number or bank information.

Spade says there are only two types of Columbia parking tickets. "The ticket is filled out by a computer, we stick it in an orange envelope. It's got the city seal on it. Some people do hand written tickets as well,"says Spade.

So, he says steer clear of anything else. "Don't go near it. Don't even try and go online and pay a ticket, not from us," says Spade.

The website associated with this particular scam, www.horribleparking.com is currently inactive. Meanwhile computer security experts say never visit a strange website because of an email or alert you recieve. Also keep in mind that most parking ticket websites end in ".gov." and not ".com."