Utah woman says two men posing as mechanics in a Costco parking lot allegedly disabled her car, then demanded $200 to fix it

A Utah woman, identified as Jasna, says she and her partner were targeted in a planned scam at a Costco in American Fork, where two men deliberately disabled a vehicle to take money from the owners. She claims that the police also believe the same. Jasna shared the experience in a recent TikTok. 

The trouble reportedly started when Jasna and her boyfriend came back to their car after shopping and found that it would not start. Right away, two men walked up to them and asked, “Do you need a jump?” Jasna found the timing and the sudden car trouble very suspicious. She said it felt strange that two men who called themselves mechanics happened to be right there the moment the car failed to start.

Jasna chose to trust her gut instead of accepting the offer. She thanked the men and told them they would be calling a friend for help instead. When she asked the men to stop touching her vehicle, the situation quickly got worse.

A recorded license plate helped confirm the tampering

The men became what she described as “extremely aggressive” toward the couple. Jasna spoke to them directly, telling them, “This seems really weird. I’m not sure what you’re trying to do but I feel like you did something to our car.” The accusation seemed to shake the pair, and they quickly got back into their own car and drove off. 

Jasna managed to record a video of the men and their license plate, which she later gave to the police. In an update that she posted on the caption of the video, Jasna shared that police examined the vehicle and confirmed that the men had tampered with it to keep it from starting. 

The police have said to have reviewed footage showing the men going under her boyfriend’s vehicle to unplug a part. A professional mechanic later confirmed that the throttle body had been unplugged. The scammers had allegedly demanded $200 to fix the car. 

Jasna also said that she noticed another man nearby who appeared to be listening to their conversation with the police. She suspected he might have been working with the other two, though she did not get more information after the police went to speak with him. Utah has been the source of other viral stories lately, including a Utah dad’s daily workout routine that drew attention online.

Since sharing her story on TikTok, Jasna has heard from several people in the area who said they went through the exact same scam. The video has drawn a lot of attention online. Several commenters praised Jasna’s reaction and offered advice. 

One said, “So happy you listened to your intuition. So scary.” Another suggested a firmer approach, writing, “nowadays you should have stopped it at the beginning said no. thank you.” Another commenter offered a technical theory about the tampering.

They wrote: “most likely what they did was they went underneath to your starter where your main battery cable is and a short circuited with ground causing your main fuse to pop so your car will not start will not turn on will not do anything until you replace that main fuse.”

Other viewers focused on safety concerns. One wrote, “It’s more scary because I live in Colorado 😳” while another argued, “Costco needs to really hire parking security!” The state has also produced an eerie Utah cave mystery that recently resurfaced on social media.

A different commenter offered a blunt rule to remember, stating, “There are no mechanics in parking lots nobody can fix the dents in your car in parking lots either! Remember that.” Jasna and her boyfriend walked away without losing any money. She has urged others to be careful of unsolicited help, especially when it involves a vehicle in a parking lot.