Airport parking scams mainly take four forms: a fake website copying a real car park, a text message or QR code leading to a fake payment page, an unlicensed valet who uses your car while you are away, and a deal that is too good to be true. You spot them by checking the website address, who runs the service and exactly where the car will be parked.
These scams are documented by the authorities. The French government's cybercrime assistance platform, Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, lists fake QR codes stuck on parking meters among its examples of QR code phishing. In Brussels, police arrested a man in September 2025 who was sticking fake QR codes on parking meters. Around Paris Orly, the press reported in 2025 cases of cars left with fake valets and returned with hundreds of extra kilometres on the clock.
In short
Type the booking site address yourself, for example comparkly.com: do not use a link received by text message.
A QR code on a parking meter or sign may be a sticker placed over the original.
A valet must be an identifiable company, with a car park address you can check.
If you paid a scammer, block your card with your bank straight away, then report it.
The most reported scams
The fake booking site
A fake site copies the name, logo and photos of a real car park, with a web address that is almost identical. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr puts it simply: sometimes a single character in the address changes to fool you. These sites often appear through an ad or a shared link. The money leaves your account, and the booking does not exist.
The phishing text or email
Phishing by text message plays on urgency: a booking to confirm, a payment declined, a parking fine to pay. The message contains a link to a page that copies a real service and asks for your card details. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr advises not clicking and checking with the organisation concerned, using contact details you already know. For a Comparkly booking, that means our support team.
The fake QR code (quishing)
The idea is simple: a sticker with a fraudulent QR code is placed over the real one on a parking meter or charging point. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr also mentions fake parking tickets left on windscreens. In December 2024, the Brussels-Capital Ixelles police zone warned about fake QR codes on parking meters in Brussels. In September 2025, Brussels police stopped a man placing them: 160 stickers in his pocket, and five sticker printers at his home. Their advice: run your hand over the QR code. If you feel an extra layer, be wary.
The fake valet
This one is specific to airports. An unlicensed service offers a low price, collects the car at the drop-off zone, then parks it anywhere or uses it. In March 2025, the French press reported cases around Orly, including a car returned with 750 extra kilometres after a fifteen-day stay. Caradisiac also reports that in 2023, in Ris-Orangis, operators were sentenced to fines and prison. In April 2026, the administrative court of Versailles upheld orders that stopped four companies from running parking operations near Orly.
The fake deal
A price far below anything else you see, a countdown timer, spaces 'almost sold out': these are pressure tactics. Real discounts exist, but they come from an identifiable operator, with written terms and a clear total before you pay.
How to check a site and an operator
Read the address in your browser bar, letter by letter. If you arrived through a link, close the page and type the address yourself, or use a bookmark.
Look for the legal notice: company name, address, company number. In Belgium, every business is registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under a unique number that you can look up.
Ask for the exact address of the car park where your car will be kept, and check it on a map. A meeting point on a pavement with no car park address is a warning sign.
Be wary of a bank transfer to a private individual, or a payment requested outside the site you booked on. On Comparkly, online payment happens on comparkly.com.
On departure day, photograph the car, the mileage and the fuel gauge. Our guide to airport valet parking lists the questions to ask a valet service.
You have been scammed: what to do
In France
First call your bank to block your card and dispute the payments. If payments were made with your card without your consent while you still have it, report them on Perceval, the Interior Ministry service available through service-public.fr: you must have blocked the card first. If you paid a fake site yourself, the online complaint for internet scams goes through THESEE, also on service-public.fr. Pharos is for reporting illegal online content; the ministry directs scam victims to THESEE.
Forward fraudulent text messages to 33700 free of charge. For advice, 17Cyber helps you work out what happened, and Info Escroqueries answers on 0 805 805 817 (free call). Keep all evidence: messages, screenshots, bank statements.
In Belgium
Call Card Stop immediately on 078 170 170 and contact your bank. Forward suspicious messages and report suspicious QR codes to suspect@safeonweb.be, the Safeonweb reporting address. If you lost money, file a complaint with your local police.
Why we only list checked operators
We only list car parks we trust. Every partner signs our partner contract and we check its documents: company registration, insurance, and the right to operate the site. We talk with the owner or manager of each car park. Our team also travels to the car parks, city by city, to see the entrance, how cars and keys are handled, and to meet the people who run them. Visited car parks carry the Verified by Comparkly badge with the date of the visit.
Fake valets are the risk we take most seriously. We meet the valet companies we work with in person, and we check where the cars are actually parked: the storage site, not only the meeting point outside the terminal. We also make test bookings ourselves to check the service from the customer side: the key handover, timing, the shuttle, the return and how support responds.
You pay online on comparkly.com, through Stripe. Some car parks let you pay part in cash on arrival. For a booking paid fully online, the car park receives its share only after your stay starts.
Unsure about a message that seems to come from us? Do not click: call our support team, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00, on +32 2 320 96 38 (Belgium) or +33 7 43 39 46 35 (France), or write to support@comparkly.com.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if an airport parking website is genuine?
Check the address letter by letter, look for a legal notice with the company name and number, and the exact address of the car park. Be wary of very low prices paired with a countdown timer.
Is it safe to pay for parking by scanning a QR code?
It can be, but check that the QR code is not a sticker placed over the original. If the address that opens does not match the service you expect, close the page and pay at the meter itself. For an airport parking booking on Comparkly, online payment happens on comparkly.com.
What is a fake valet?
It is an unlicensed service that collects your car at the airport, with no identifiable car park. Cases reported around Orly describe cars being used while their owners were away. Insist on an identifiable company and a car park address.
How does Comparkly choose the car parks it lists?
We only list car parks we trust. We check each partner's documents, talk with the owner or manager, meet the valet companies and check where the cars are parked. We also make test bookings. Visited car parks carry the Verified by Comparkly badge with the date of the visit.
I paid on a fake site. Can I get my money back?
Contact your bank straight away to block the card and dispute the payment, then file a complaint (THESEE in France, local police in Belgium). Whether you get a refund depends on the case and on your bank, which is why acting fast and keeping evidence matters.
Will Comparkly send me a payment link by text message?
Bookings are paid on comparkly.com. If you receive a message that looks suspicious, do not click it and call our support team to check. Answers to common questions are in our FAQ.
To book with operators we have checked, type comparkly.com yourself and start from your airport page, for example car parks at Paris Orly, or choose your airport. You will see the total for your stay, all fees included, and the badge on the car parks we have visited. A question? Contact us.
