Utah woman says two men got ‘extremely aggressive’ after she declined help with a stalled car. Police confirmed it had been tampered with

A Utah woman has said that she and her boyfriend were targeted in what she believes was a scam in a Costco parking lot, after their vehicle reportedly would not start when they returned to it. According to the video, two men who claimed to be mechanics approached them and offered help, but the situation soon felt suspicious to her.

The woman, who posts on TikTok as Jasna (@jasnahooke), said the incident happened at the American Fork Costco. She recounted that she was shopping with her boyfriend, and when they came back to their vehicle and tried to start it, it would not work.

Jasna said two men who were parked diagonally from them got out and asked, “Do you need a jump?” She said she was unsure whether they needed help, and that things began to seem strange to her. It appeared odd to her that the vehicle suddenly stopped working and that two men describing themselves as mechanics were already nearby and ready to assist.

Police findings and a man Jasna believed was watching the scene

According to Jasna, she did not want to accuse the men of anything because she would have felt bad if she were wrong. She said she thanked them and told them a friend who is a mechanic could come and help instead. She recounted that when she told one of the men to stop touching the vehicle, he became “extremely aggressive” toward them.

Jasna said she told the men, “This seems really weird. I’m not sure what you’re trying to do but I feel like you did something to our car.” She said that once she made that statement, the two men got into their car and left. According to her, her boyfriend recorded a video of the men and their license plate, after which they called the police.

Jasna said police looked at the situation and indicated the men had done something to the vehicle so it would not work. She also said that while police were present, she noticed another man parked nearby who appeared to be listening.

She said she wondered whether he might also have been involved, though she added she did not want to assume that. Similar unease has surfaced in other accounts online, including one in which a woman said a man followed her after waiting nearby.

According to Jasna, she and her boyfriend returned about five hours later with a friend who is a mechanic. She said her mother then pointed out a man parked in front of the vehicle who appeared to be watching and filming them. Jasna said it was the same man she had seen earlier near the police, and that her cousin recorded a video of the man and his vehicle’s VIN number.

Jasna said the man walked toward the Costco without asking if there was a problem, and that they called police again. According to her, officers spoke with the man, but she said there was legally nothing they could do because there was no proof. She maintained that she would not post the face of that man online, in case he was not involved.

In an update posted on the caption of her video, Jasna said that multiple people in the area reached out to say the same thing had happened to them. She said police reviewed footage that purportedly showed the two men going underneath her boyfriend’s vehicle and unplugging something so it would not work.

According to Jasna, when the vehicle was taken to a mechanic, the mechanic said the throttle body had been unplugged, which she said was the reason the vehicle would not start. She also said the two men had demanded $200 to fix the vehicle. She said she believes this is a common scam in the area.

In her TikTok caption, Jasna wrote, “Multiple people have reached out to me with the same story. They look for Toyota corollas pretend to help fix whatever they unplugged and then demand $200.” She added that police had the footage and were investigating, and asked anyone affected to contact the police.

Jasna’s video drew reactions and similar accounts from viewers. One commenter wrote, “So weird and scary!!” Another was skeptical, writing, “yeah I dont think any of this really happened.” A third suggested a practical step, writing, “Thank you for sharing. You documented the incident pretty good. I suggest you file an insurance claim. I trust the insurance will cover your loss.”

One comment read, “Costco is becoming Walmart,” while another, from a person who said they work on cars, read, “As someone who works on cars, I NEVER trust anyone who’s pushy to help… it’s weird IMO… and even I ask once if they say no I move on.” Concerns about people being watched have featured in other reports too, such as one alleging a police officer used databases to track a woman.

Jasna said the entire encounter with the two men lasted only about two minutes. She said she hoped sharing the account would help others stay alert, adding that she did not know the full nature of what she described as a larger scheme.