DETROIT – 
Every year thousands of people gather in Downtown Detroit for a feel-good event aimed at saving lives.
Sadly some people who came to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk got an awful surprise, their cars were broken into and police say a fake parking attendant is to blame.
The walk was centered right between Comerica Park and Ford Field at the corner of Montcalm and Brush.
There is limited parking in the area so people have to branch out to find a place to park and thieves know it.
The fake attendant waved a pink bandanna luring people into a parking lot Saturday. When the people left, the man helped himself and broke into their cars, police say.
In all about 12 cars were broken into.
It's not the first time people have pretended to run parking lots downtown. Local 4 has busted fake parking attendants trying to collect money from Lions fans looking for parking in the past.
The first rule to avoid this type of scam, don't park in areas with high grass and no fence.
Detroit parking attendants wear a parking button that is issued by the city.
Employees of authorized city parking lots and garages wear identification badges that indicate the parking facility is licensed by the City of Detroit.
The best advice? Make sure you look closely at who is taking your cash.