Latest news with #paymentmachines
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fraudsters steal from motorists at city centre car park pay machines
A city centre car park has been targeted by fraudsters stealing money from drivers at payment machines. Customers at Worcester Street car park in Oxford have had sums of money taken from their bank accounts shortly after using the pay machines. Oxford City Council has issued a warning to car park users that they've identified the fraudulent activity and are working with the police to investigate. READ MORE: Pro-Palestine activists break in to RAF Brize Norton After three customers reported money taken or attempts for money to be taken from their accounts, checks revealed that fraudsters placed skimming devices disguised as legitimate card readers over the actual readers on city council pay machines. Worcester Street Car Park payment machines have been compromised (Image: Olivia Christie) These can capture card data without the card owner's knowledge and allow scammers to take funds from the account. A common sign of this scam is a "card declined" message on the machine, prompting users to move to another machine—by which time, the card may already have been compromised. Experience the pulse of Oxford at your fingertips 🗞️ With our flash sale, Oxford Mail keeps you updated for less: only £4 for 4 months or save 40 per cent on an annual subscription. Don't miss out on what's happening locally #DigitalDeal #LocalJournalismhttps:// — Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) June 16, 2025 Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and culture at Oxford City Council, said: "We understand the concern this may cause and are taking this issue extremely seriously. "This kind of incident is not common in any of our car parks. READ MORE: Major delays due to crash on M40 near Bicester "Public safety and the security of our facilities are top priorities, and our staff regularly check the machines and are trained to spot this kind of scam. "I would ask for car park users to remain vigilant and promptly report any similar incidents or suspicious activity to the police." The city council say they have reported the incidents to the police and initiated increased inspections on all council-owned pay machines. They've also instructed enforcement officers to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity and have made the public aware of the fraud risks. READ MORE: Manhunt after man exposed himself on M40 Banbury overbridge Guidance issued by the city council to car park users includes advising customers to inspect the card reader before inserting a bank card, and not use the machine if "anything looks unusual". Messages on screen and bank notifications or warnings could be red flags that something is wrong. It also said that RingGo, a mobile car park payment app, can be used as an alternative method to avoid bank card fraud. The council asked car park users to report any suspicious activity to police immediately by phoning 101. READ MORE: Criminal damage to a vehicle in Banbury Tesco carpark Worcester Street is a 24-hour open-air car park accessed from Hythe Bridge Street and Park End Street. It has a pay-and-display payment system and payment machines do not accept cash, although a telephone payment system with a valid bank card as well as RingGo app payments are available. The car park is one of six owned and operated by the council in the city centre, though the council has not reported any other incidents of fraudulent activity at other locations.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Reading: New parking machines being installed at 96 locations
New parking payment machines are being installed in Reading after the old ones were taken out of service in April. The borough council has begun the process of replacing the old pay and display machines - which allowed drivers to pay over the phone or using the RingGo app - with 96 new will allow contactless payments by bank cards, mobile payments via apps, and about 20 of them will take cash councillor for transport John Ennis said the new machines would offer "a much more convenient service" for motorists. He said he recognised cash payment remained popular in some places, which the council said included the area around the Royal Berkshire Hospital."Machines will still accept cash in these locations," he said. The old machines were bagged up in the 96 machines, 82 will be used for on-street parking, with the remainder being installed in off-street car council's review of its on-street parking service found that 55% of transactions were made using the RingGo call service allows people to pay for parking without needing a installation of the machines clears the way for emissions-based parking charges to be introduced, which were discussed by the council's traffic management sub-committee on Wednesday. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
