South Wales Police issues warning as Swansea students become target of new bus scam

South Wales Police has issued a warning to Swansea students as they become the target of a new bus scam.

Swansea students are being warned by the police about a new bus scam in the city, following a series of fraudulent posters being put up around the city targeted towards students.

These posters offer fake, cheaper fares for hopeful students but when they scan the QR code provided, a virus is downloaded onto their phones giving scammers access to personal information and data.

Speaking with Wales Online, a spokesperson for the South Wales Police said that the virus “allows personal information to be obtained without your knowledge or consent.”

“Please exhibit caution. Our university liaison team will remove these posters when identified.”

This comes only days after a similar scam in another Welsh city, Newport, in which a fake Newport Bus Facebook page was found to be promoting a special “Bamboo” card which offered six months of unlimited travel in Newport for £2 if the buyer clinked their link.

The real Newport Bus Facebook page posted a statement, including screenshots of the fake  account, saying: “We are aware of a promotion on Facebook offering reduced priced tickets. THIS IS A SCAM AND NOT US. Please do not open the link. Help us by reporting this to Facebook.”

This bus scam may come as a shock to some, after Swansea was named the safest student city in Wales in April 2023. However, the Swansea and Newport bus scams are not the only ones happening in Wales.

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According to Wales Online, North Wales Police investigated a series of fraudulent QR codes for a parking scam in both Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, in August. These QR codes were designed to scam locals and tourists into providing their payment details on trick websites.

One Facebook user, Brenda, said: “Parking meters the same should have stuck to cash,” in response to the scam.

Feature image credit: Google Maps

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