Canada

The agency in charge of Montreal's parking meters is warning of potentially fraudulent QR codes posted on its signs.

The Agence de mobilité durable de Montréal said in a media release on Tuesday that it was aware that some of its signs had been vandalized with a QR code that wasn't supposed to be there.

The agency hung the signs on parking metres across the city to encourage people to download their new parking app, Mobicité. The signs have no QR code, but some users have reported seeing one posted on them.

Do not scan the QR code, the agency said, it may direct you to a fraudulent or malicious website.

"Our team is working hard to identify and remove them as quickly as possible," the media release said. "Thank you for your vigilance and for reporting any suspicious signs to us."

The agency changed its parking app from P$ Service mobile, which allowed users to pay for parking, to the new app, Mobicité, to allow additional features in the coming years.

For now, the Mobicité app will allow users to only pay for parking, like the old app did. But down the line, Laurent Chevrot, the general manager of the agency, says the app will add other functionalities over the next few years, such as the ability to provide parking information and customer service.

"With the other application, that wasn't possible," he said.

Mobicité rolled out at the beginning of June. It cost $719,000 and took 10 months to produce.