{"id":5128,"date":"2013-10-07T10:51:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T14:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/?p=5128"},"modified":"2023-05-16T07:50:17","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T11:50:17","slug":"parking-scams-fake-parking-attendant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/parking-scams-fake-parking-attendant\/","title":{"rendered":"Parking scams: the case of the fake parking attendant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last few years, we’ve seen some creative and inglorious parking scams, but none seem so threatening as\u00a0duplicitous parking attendants and valets. You’re often in a hurry to hop out of your car and get to an appointment or activity; in that rush some con artists are taking advantage of harried drivers. Be on your guard and get informed: fake parking attendants are more common than you’d think.<\/p>\n

Parking attendant posers<\/h2>\n

Patrons at Fisherman\u2019s Wharf were, until recently, being duped by a con artist who posed as a parking attendant in San Francisco\u2019s historical fishing district. George Anderson, a 50-year-old con artist, is infamous for masquerading as a parking lot attendant and charging a fee from parkers in exchange for a fake receipt.<\/p>\n

\"Parking<\/a>

Some “parking attendants” are just taking you for a ride (photo by JEKruger<\/a>).<\/p><\/div>\n

In Houston, a 76-year-old woman who parked her vehicle at the Ace parking lot on Fannin, was cheated by two scam artists who posed at parking attendants and took a parking fee from her. The woman later found a boot in her vehicle, not knowing why it had happened.<\/p>\n

The woman first gave $20 to a man who posed as the parking attendant and then paid $10 to another parking attendant after being told the first guy was a crook. Carol Templeton, who had now paid for parking twice, later found her vehicle booted for which she paid a $100 fine. As it turns out, both the men were running the parking scam. Templeton parted with a total of $130! The vehicle was booted by a legitimate parking company. \u201cThis is as bad as it gets when you\u2019re getting conned out of $30 and now you have to pay a $100 fine,\u201d said Carol Templeton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Avoiding parking scams<\/h2>\n

If there’s an option, people should always pay the machines in a parking lot and display the receipt on their dashboard window. \u00a0\u201cNever give money to a person claiming to be an attendant unless that person is in uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lesson to be learned from this? Machines are way more trustworthy than humans! Well, not quite. Always pay attention to the signs installed by the parking lot authorities.<\/p>\n

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