Calgary Parking Authority warns of fake parking ticket scam

The Calgary Parking Authority (CPA) is warning drivers in the city to take a second look if they find a ticket stuck to their windshield.

Officials say scammers are printing and placing fake parking ticket on vehicles claiming to be from the city agency.

CPA says the fraudulent tickets will direct people to pay at calgaryparkplus.com, which is not the official website.

Real tickets issued by the city will direct payments to calgaryparking.com/tickets or parkingtickets.calgaryparking.com

“We do still issue regular paper tickets,” says Todd Sullivan, leader of Parking Patrol and Investigation at Calgary Parking. “Just because you see one doesn’t mean it’s necessarily fake.”

Drivers who receive a ticket are also able to verify that the ticket is really by calling Calgary Parking at 403-537-7000 and providing the agent with their ticket number.

Tickets can also be verified at calgaryparking.com.

Sullivan says the city become aware of the scam after two people reported it last week. He says in both instances the people attempted to pay the tickets on through the actual city resources, and therefore the payments were unsuccessful.

“In one case they actually came down to our offices and brought a copy of the ticket with them,” he says, adding the matter is being investigated by the city’s corporate security in conjunction with Calgary police.

“We don’t know how many were put out and we don’t know who put them out,” he says.

Anyone who comes across a fake ticket is being urged to destroy it and report it to the Calgary Police Service’s non-emergency line at 403-266-1234.

Calgarians are also reminded not to share personal information online or over the phone unless they are sure it’s safe.

In April, the CPA warned of a different scam making the rounds, this time, in the form of a text telling someone they got a ticket and directing them to a ‘self-serve’ portal hyperlink to resolve the issue.

The city and its parking agency say text messages aren’t used for ticket notifications or payment requests and advise not responding or clicking the link if you receive a message.

With files from Henna Saeed