Riverside city officials warned visitors to the city's Festival of Lights this weekend to be aware of a scam regarding parking pay stations in and around the downtown area.
City officials said on Thursday scammers have put numerous fake QR codes on most parking pay stations near the Mission Inn Hotel and Spa, directing users to a fake website that asks for a person's credit card information.
The scam is the second in the past two months of the festival, which also involved scammers selling fake tickets online for the free festival.
The city advised the public to protect their information by double-checking the size QR code -- the smaller QR codes will indicate a fake code -- and to utilize the official Riverside app for parking payments at www.RiversideCA.gov/Parking.
To report a suspicious QR code, contact a city staff member by contacting 311, 951-826-5311 or at www.RiversideCA.gov/apps.