These Fake Parking Tickets are Pretty Hilarious

Asheville, North Carolina has a parking ticket problem. Some prankster is issuing fake tickets and sticking them on cars across the city. Not only are Asheville residents plagued with the panic-inducing sight of a parking ticket tucked under their windshield wiper, but when people scan the QR code on the ticket, it takes them to a YouTube page. Specifically to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Yep, it’s a rickroll. Talk about adding insult to injury.

According to WLOS, the city found out about the ongoing prank when a law-abiding citizen dutifully went to pay his “parking ticket” and was informed that it was fake. Not only was the ticket physically larger than real tickets, it also had the wrong date, a fake officer ID, and a phony violation code.

While the internet may think the prank is hilarious, retro, and tech-forward, the Asheville Parking Services department is not impressed. “It causes us extra work, causes aggravation for our citizens, and I really think somebody’s doing it for a prank,” Harry Brown, Asheville’s Parking Services Manager, told WLOS.