Man Says He Was Scammed By Fake Parking Lot Attendant In Downtown Tulsa

A Tulsa man says he ended up paying twice for downtown parking after he found out someone was pretending to be a parking lot attendant and taking money.

While the customer who parked at the lot across from the BOK Center says he's only out $20, he doesn't want it to happen to anyone else.

Jonathan Marcoulides was running late for his niece's Broken Arrow High School graduation at the BOK Center Monday night.

"I pulled in about 7:30-7:45,” he said.

He paid a man $20 for a parking spot.

“He was standing right here at the front entrance,” Marcoulides said. “I mean, he looked exactly like the other person did working, except for the fact that she had a reflecting jacket on."

When the man said he didn't need a ticket stub, Marcoulides started questioning the purchase.

He ended up forking over another $20, this time, he says, to an actual parking attendant who gave him a ticket stub.

“After I found out that this person wasn't legit, I came back over to the other end of the parking lot,” he said. “No more than a minute in between, and he was already gone."

The lot is managed by SP Plus.

Its regional manager declined to tell us his name or talk on camera, but says this is the first time he's heard about this happening in the last three years.

Marcoulides was told otherwise.

“So I asked her if the guy at the other end taking money was supposed to be taking my money, and she said 'no, I've had to run these people off at the other lot before,'” Marcoulides said. “Which told me that this is something that happens multiple times."

So he's urging others to be more alert when parking in downtown lots.

“It was my mistake for not looking, being more attentive,” he said. “If i had been running on time, I would have never done that. But my biggest thing is just to warn others. Be careful. Don't give your money to someone if you don't feel like they're an actual employee of the parking lot, because, believe me, they're doing it, and they're gonna keep doing it until they get caught."

We checked with a couple of parking companies that say their attendants usually wear clothing with company logos and always will give a parking stub.