Parking ticket news - Infected drive - 2009

Important consumer advice from Top Gear: ignore parking tickets.

Actually, that’s not quite right. Ignore any parking ticket you get that instructs you to visit a website to pay your fine. Because it’s lies! All lies!

See, American hackers have worked out a new way of infecting computers with evil, nasty viruses: issuing fake parking tickets instructing drivers to visit a website to ‘view pictures with information about your parking preferences’.

But, of course, when you visit, your computer gets all beaten up by a vicious Trojan horse. Which is bad, we believe.

The scam began in North Dakota, but is expected to spread to other countries as other unscrupulous geeks try to cash in on our gullibility.

Experts have advised maintaining up-to-date antivirus software and guarding your car at all times with a large stick and a wild-eyed expression.