If you receive a text message claiming you owe $2.50 for parking fees and directing you to a CityPay website to make payment, do not click on the website link as it is a new type of scam.
Recently, many citizens have received a text message from “New York CityPay” stating, “Our records show you have an unpaid $2.50 parking fee, which will become $25 if not paid promptly.” The message includes a website link ending in .com, the New York City government warns against opening that link.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams mentioned in a press conference on Tuesday, “Many people think they will never be deceived, but you would be surprised how we unknowingly fall into the trap of text messages asking for personal information… Please remain vigilant, and we will diligently combat scams.”
In fact, the official CityPay website ends in .gov, not .com. New York City residents can use this government website to pay vehicle fines, property taxes, and check the balance of their genuine CityPay accounts.
Currently, the homepage of the CityPay official website advises, “If you receive a text message claiming to be from CityPay, please delete it immediately. We will never send unsolicited texts reminding you to make payments. Do not click on any links in text messages claiming to be from CityPay, as they are fraudulent.”
Ms. Tan (pseudonym), a resident of New York, told the media that she also received such a text last week. Fortunately, she first searched on Google using her computer and found the real CityPay website, which did not show any outstanding fees for her vehicle. She informed her husband about the text and realized that when she registered their vehicle information, she had provided her husband’s phone number, not hers, thus understanding it was a scam text.
Ms. Wang shared with Epoch Times that she often receives similar messages. “The so-called parking fees and such are all scams. Once I see them, I block the number, reducing these annoying messages significantly.”
(Note: This is a rewritten and translated version of the original news article, focusing on a scam involving fake parking fee messages in New York City.)