Drivers are being warned of fake parking apps which are flooding Google and prey on vulnerable motorists who could be charged expensive costs for a sham product.
Consumer experts are urging motorists to be careful when paying for parking amid fears that fake websites pretending to offer services will steal people’s information and money.
Drivers are instead advised to download apps from the official Apple or Google Play app stores instead of using websites found on search engines.
Which? has identified a number of websites that purport to offer parking services for motorists which appear at the top of Google search results.
Many scam parking app websites have appeared this year
GETTY
This has also been seen with drivers looking to pay for things like Transport for London and the daily charge from the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
Experts state that scammers and criminals continue to abuse online advertising to appear higher above legitimate payment websites and trap drivers.
Adverts impersonating major parking companies including JustPark, PayByPhone and RingGo have appeared on Google in recent months.
One of the fake websites that appeared advertised a “free download” for drivers, although anyone clicking through the website could be stung.
In the small print, it told of charges of £24.99 a month to an unnamed company for a “health and lifestyle bundle subscription”.
A spokesperson for PayByPhone told Which? that these companies did not have the right to use its images or logos.
They added that the scammers had previously been reported but bought a new domain in a continued attempt to trick drivers.
Drivers could get into further hot water if they do not pay the original parking fee which the website was imitating, potentially costing them hundreds of pounds in the process.
Search engine companies like Google and Bing have been under pressure from companies to quickly remove the adverts as soon as they are reported.
This would help drivers avoid being scammed by only showing and promoting legitimate parking app websites.
Since the investigation, Google has removed any scam websites when searching for “paybyphone app”.
Under its own guidance, Google does not allow adverts that could deceive users by excluding relevant product information or providing misleading information.
Previously, GB News found a number of scam websites preying on drivers claiming to help them pay for the ULEZ in London just days after the expansion in August.
A handful of websites were found on Google when searching for “pay Ulez charge” or even just “Ulez”, with motorists reporting that they had been caught out.
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Drivers have been urged to use apps instead of searching on Google for websites
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Transport for London has a dedicated webpage urging motorists to avoid any illegitimate websites purporting to help drivers pay for the Ulez charge.
It advises people to use the official TfL payment process to pay for the Ulez, Congestion Charge and Low Emission Zone charge.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed that TfL is not associated with any third-party websites accepting ULEZ payments.
