Be mindful in the parking lot here in the Yakima area, it could save you time and money.

The Yakima Police Department is warning folks to watch out for two suspects conducting a number of parking lot scams.

The YPD said that on Tuesday, an elderly couple came into the Yakima Police Department and reported a strange encounter with two men in a parking lot.

Police say the couple was parked at Fiesta Foods when they saw a white car with large, black lettering on the side that said “LEXUS”.

A little while later, police say the couple went to Home Depot and the same white car also pulled into Home Depot. According to police, the couple says two Hispanic males approached them in the parking lot, stating that they had hit their vehicle.

What happened next is a pretty common scam in states like Florida or California, where the scam artist shows some damage on their car and try to get cash from the scam victim.

In this case, the YPD says the suspects showed the couple a dent on their "Lexus" vehicle but there was no damage to the couple's vehicle. Then the suspects tried to push for a cash settlement and negotiate to get money from the couple. The suspects said if the couple just gave $500, it would be fine.

The police say in this instance the husband pushed back and was adamant they were not giving money to the suspects, but in an attempt to get the suspects to leave them alone, they did exchange phone numbers with the men.

Police warn that they have had several people contact YPD with the same scenario and that it seems this must be a new scam going on in town in an attempt to get people to pay the scammers money for damages to their vehicle.

In most cases involving an accident you should always contact police even if all you end up doing is exchanging insurance information. YPD say specifically in this instance, if these men contact you in a parking lot, immediately call 9-1-1.

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