Motorists in a large area of a major capital are being urged to double check their parking fines after one resident discovered their infringement notice wasn’t handed out by the council.
The City of Casey, a council area 34km south east of Melbourne, revealed a Hallam resident was given a parking fine.
The fine was issued on May 16 for “incorrect parking on the nature strip”, and placed upon a handful of cars on one street.
Residents were given a month to cough up the money they were fined.
An image of the fine looks legitimate, even featuring the council’s logo at the top.
However, upon closer inspection, the council determined the infringement notice was indeed a forgery.
“The infringement notices have not been issued by our Parking Compliance team,” a statement on the council’s website explained.
“Upon inspection of the ticket, the barcode does not follow the same ticket lay out and carries incorrect information regarding its authenticity.”
The council has conducted a patrol of the area, with plans to follow up once again.
Residents who believe they may have been given a fake fine are urged to contact the council to verify its validity.
It comes as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed that the latest Targeting Scams report showed Australians lost $3.1 billion to scams in 2022.
This is an 80 per cent increase on the year before.
“Australians lost more money to scams than ever before in 2022, but the true cost of scams is much more than a dollar figure as they also cause emotional distress to victims, their families and businesses,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.
“As scammers become increasingly sophisticated in their tactics, it is clear a co-ordinated response across government, law enforcement and the private sector is essential to combat scams more effectively.”