Woman sees potentially suspicious charge on her account after parking at Fort Myers Beach

When enjoying a day on Fort Myers Beach, QR codes for parking shouldn’t be a problem.

“I’ve never had any issues,” said beachgoer Patrick Russo.

“They’re everywhere,” said beachgoer Gracie Boggs.

While it isn’t a problem for Russo and Boggs, they haven’t had an experience like Jennifer Ewing, who said a charge that isn’t hers showed up on her account.

“I don’t want to risk paying anywhere that they have that kind of parking,” Ewing said.

Ewing parked in the lot across from Lynn Hall Memorial Park, paid with a QR code, and went to visit friends for lunch at Bella Mozzarella.

“The next day, on my way to work, I got a fraud alert from my credit union stating if I had authorized an $86.38 charge to Wingstop,” said Ewing.

The Wingstop looked to be located in California.

Suncoast Credit Union blocked Ewing’s card, but the charge still went through.

“Somebody’s hacking and stealing credit card information, debit card information, and using it to their disposal,” Ewing said.

According to Government Watchdog Insider Intelligence, 94 million Americans will use their phones to scan a QR code this year.

Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet, said QR fraudulent charges are similar to ATM fraudulent charges.

“Whenever you are scanning a QR code, you want to take an extra step to make sure you know what URL it’s leading to,” Palmer said. “That it’s somewhere expected.”

A spokesperson for the Town of Fort Myers Beach told WINK News the fraudulent charges can come when people use QR code reader applications, not their phone cameras, to read the QR code.

These apps have advertisements that pop up, and clicking on those advertisements could lead to false charges.

Ewing told WINK News she used her phone’s camera, not an app.

The Town of Fort Myers Beach is working on new parking signs to avoid the issue.

Suncoast Credit Union said it will take about eight to ten days to investigate Ewing’s Wingstop charge.

The credit union provided WINK News with a statement saying, “Suncoast Credit Union encourages all consumers to be aware and diligent regarding their accounts and financial information. QR scams are an example of how fraud schemes continue to evolve and how technology is being used to commit crimes. Parking meters are a prime target for this type of fraud.”

Suncoast also gave WINK News some helpful tips, such as inspecting a QR code URL before opening it, checking QR codes carefully, and not scanning a QR code in an email or text message.