Drivers are being warned of the danger of being defrauded by criminals using QR codes in West Devon Borough Council car parks.

The fraud is carried out by placing fake QR codes on payment machines in the car park claiming to be official council codes for paying for parking.

However, the codes are nothing to do with the council, which has stressed it does not use QR codes.

The false codes are used by fraudsters to steal money from unsuspecting drivers by using their private digital data.

Motorists should, instead, use the official PayByPhone app if they want to pay by the cashless method in borough council car parks.

To do this, car park users should download the official PayByPhone app from the App Store or Google Play.

To help avoid others becoming victims of the scam, drivers who are aware of the use of fake QR codes in West Devon Borough Council car parks are asked to report it at this link: https://tinyurl.com/mxdwavh4