The Renton Police Department issued a scam warning on Monday (Jan. 11) warning residents of a staged vehicle repair scam.

The department posted across its social media accounts to warn of multiple reports of scammers in various parking lots in the city.

The post claimed scammers often targeted elderly citizens advising them of damage to their car and offering to fix it on the spot. The suspects will either cause the damage themselves or tell the victims their bumper is about to fall off, according to the post.

Allegedly, the scammers claim to conveniently have the parts needed for the repair and proceed to tamper with the vehicle before requesting payment with a bill “typically written out on some type of notepaper.”

The police department said the suspect or suspects will request payment for the alleged repair work via check or credit card and then immediately use that information for fraudulent purposes when they leave the scene.

The number of victims of this kind of scam are increasing, according to Renton police, because the profit margin for this scam is very high.

The police department has warned residents to be wary of these kinds of scams in the community and to call 911 to report any potential scams.