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Why not a short URL where one can at least read the domain name and see if it looks reasonable before progressing with whatever the task ($£kr) is

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Even seeing the domain name doesn't solve the fundamental trust problem. A malicious actor could post a fake QR code or fake short URL leading to "city-parking-secure.com" or similar legitimate-looking domain.

The real solution is establishing a trusted channel - citizens need to know they should only pay for municipal parking through their city's official domain (e.g., sf.gov/parking). But this isn't possible when it's some random parking company. I don't see a great solution.

The parking company could use a subdomain, say parking.sf.gov

That could help, as `.gov` can only be registered by the US government. But... a lot of the millennial and gen X generation have misguided beliefs about the trustworthiness of TLDs. Such as thinking `.com` is more trustworthy than `.net` under the assumption that it can only be registered by a real company.

I'm convinced the only responsible solutions are chip-only payment processors and conventional coin machines, as pricey as they are.

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