STROUDSBURG, Pa. — When you get to Downtown Stroudsburg, the first thing you may do is pay the parking meters using a QR code, but that convenience has become a victim of a scam. Someone put tiny stickers over some of the parking meter QR codes.
"What happens is when you scan the QR code, it actually sends you to a website where people obviously think they are paying for parking, but you are paying someone else for nothing," said Larry Kopp, Stroudsburg Borough Manager.
Borough Manager Larry Kopp says a handful of people scanned the fake QR code and paid the fee. Some say this is just the latest scammer's way of making a buck.
"They're putting stickers over stickers. What's next? Now, you can't even park and be safe. It's like, what do you trust?" said Joseph Cormier from Canada.
"It shows that people are at an all-time low, and they're doing anything to get scams, whatever it takes to get a dollar. It's sad," said Joseph Tuttle of East Stroudsburg.
Borough officials say they're taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again, but in the meantime, they're asking people not to scan the QR codes and to pay on the app or with quarters.
"What we are going to do is put stickers over the QR codes, and long term, we are putting in new meters next year, so basically, you can use credit and debit cards, so there will be no need for QR codes," explained Kopp.
Stroud Area Regional Police are investigating the scam.