You pull into a parking spot. You see a QR code on the meter. You scan it, pay, and go about your day.

Except you didn't pay for parking. You just gave your credit card to a stranger.

This scam is spreading fast. Raleigh, North Carolina issued an alert two weeks ago after fake QR codes appeared on meters downtown. NYC's Department of Transportation put out a public warning. Fort Lauderdale found fake stickers at seven locations in a single day. Columbia, South Carolina flagged one on January 2nd.

Here's how it works: Scammers print their own QR code stickers and slap them right over the real ones on parking meters, "Pay by Phone" signs, and even EV charging stations. The sticker looks legit. It might even have a real app logo on it. But when you scan it, you land on a fake website that looks almost identical to the real payment portal.

One California case used "poybyphone" instead of "PayByPhone." One letter off. Easy to miss when you're rushing.

Once you enter your card info, it goes straight to the scammer. Worse, your parking isn't actually paid, so you might come back to a ticket too.

What to do:

We spend a lot of time warning you about texts, emails, and phone calls. But this week's scam is a good reminder: the physical world has traps too.

A sticker on a parking meter. A flyer on a windshield. A "code to pay" taped to a restaurant table.

If it involves scanning something and entering payment info, slow down. Look closely. And when you can, go directly to the official source instead of trusting what's in front of you.

Your phone is powerful. But so is a $2 sticker in the right place.

Got a text, email, or screenshot you're not sure about? Paste it into ScamRank and get your Trust Signal in seconds. And yes, it's faster now. We've optimized our scanning engine this week, so you'll get results quicker across texts, emails, URLs, and screenshots.

Big news: ScamRank Family just launched.

For $15/month (or $120/year, which saves you $60), you can protect up to 5 people. Parents, grandparents, spouse, kids. Everyone gets unlimited scans, and each person's scan history stays private to them.

Here's what makes it worth it: Caregiver Alerts. When someone in your family scans something high-risk, you get notified. You don't have to hover. You don't have to ask "did you click that?" You just know.

There's also a Family Manager dashboard so you can see who's protected and invite new members anytime.

If you've been wishing you could keep an eye on your parents' digital life without being intrusive, this is it.

Check it out at ScamRank.com

The FTC flagged this one on January 20th.

You get a text about a $10,000 loan application. But you never applied for a loan.

The message says things like "This is the last step" or "Reply YES to confirm." It might ask for your Social Security number or bank account to "complete the process."

None of it is real. It's just a scammer trying to catch you off guard.

The rule: If you didn't apply for something, don't confirm it. Don't click. Don't call the number in the message. Delete it and move on.

You can forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) and report them at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.