The Buzz · Hamilton Civic Wire

Your parking meter might be a scam in disguise.

Your morning commute just got weirder

Good morning from the Hammer — steel town, art town, your town. Don't look away.

Okay, so get this: BikeShare Toronto is warning people about QR code scams on their bikes, right? And the police are seeing it with parking meters too. Now, you might be thinking, "What's that got to do with us on the Mountain?" But listen, this kind of thing? It spreads. And it always hits us in the wallet, which stings more than a bee in your ćevapi.

### What This Means for Hamilton

Here's why you gotta pay attention, even if you don't use BikeShare Toronto:

* **It's already here:** The same scam with fake QR codes is hitting parking meters in Toronto. You think our city won't be next? We've got parking meters all over the place — James Street North, Locke Street, the whole downtown core. * **How it works:** People put fake QR codes over the real ones. You scan it to pay, thinking you're doing the right thing, and boom — your credit card info just got lifted by some *budala*. * **Stay sharp:** Always double-check those QR codes. If it looks a little off, or sticky, or like it's been tampered with, don't scan it. Find another way to pay, or just move your car. It's not worth the hassle.

This isn't some far-off problem. This is a Barton Street kind of problem, a Main Street problem. It's about protecting your hard-earned money from opportunists. We work too hard in this city to let some lowlife swipe our cash with a sticker.

Sonja Kovačević-Mountain, MiTL Sports Desk, Hamilton.

The morning show crew digs into all the local weirdness — catch 'em live at mornings.live.

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