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Senior citizens were targeted by pickpockets in six incidents in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Kensington last month, police said.

All six incidents happened during the daytime and most occurred in office buildings, according to Montgomery County Police. The victims, all elderly residents, described similar suspects in some of the incidents, but Officer Megan Duffey, a police spokeswoman, said there was not enough information to say whether the incidents were related. Credit cards stolen from the victims were used after three of the incidents.

The first incidents occurred between noon and 12:30 p.m. on May 8 at the Chevy Chase Building at 5530 Wisconsin Ave., in Bethesda. In the first incident, two men entered the elevator with the victim. One of the men pretended to catch his arm in the closing doors and when the victim tried to help him, the other man tried to grab his wallet. However, the man had been a victim of a similar incident in the past and held onto his wallet.

In the second incident, a different victim was leaving the building, when a suspect dropped items on the ground. The victim helped him pick up the items and later realized his wallet was missing.

Three pickpocketing incidents occurred at the Kaiser Building at 10819 Connecticut Ave. in Kensington. During the first, which occurred at 10:35 a.m. on May 12, the victim tried to help a man who pretended to catch his arm in the elevator door, while another man stole the victim's wallet from his pants pocket. On May 18, at 11:20 a.m., a female suspect dropped items inside the elevator and as the victim helped pick up the items, she felt a man tugging at her purse. When she confronted him, he dropped her wallet, while the female suspect apologized and both ran out of the elevator. In the third incident, at 11 a.m. on May 29, a suspect fell while getting into the elevator and bumped into a woman, who later realized her wallet was missing from her purse.

Another incident occurred at 12:30 p.m. on May 15 at 10215 Fernwood Road in Bethesda and police believe the same suspects were involved. Again, a suspect pretended to get his hand caught in the closing doors of an elevator while another suspect removed a wallet from the victim's purse.

In the incidents, the male suspects were described as black men, one with a goatee, between 30 and 50 years old, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 170 to 190 pounds. The female suspect was described as a white woman, 25 to 35 years old with long hair, accompanied by a white man between 40 and 50 years old.

Police are cautioning people to be aware of distraction techniques that pickpocketers use. Women should always carry their purses, especially while shopping and men should carry wallets in their front jacket or front pants pocket, according to police. Potential victims should record a list of all credit card account numbers and credit card company phone numbers so they can cancel cards as soon as possible, police said.