By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Police say a new home repair scam is making its way through Bloomington and has found its first victim.

Bloomington Police spokeswoman Sarah Mayer said two scammers soliciting work for gutter repairs left without doing any work for an elderly victim in the 2600 block of Ridge Road on Tuesday. She said the two white men distracted the victim to steal jewelry before leaving in a red pickup truck without doing any work.

“We just ask residents to be wary if anyone comes to your home uninvited claiming they want to do home repair work,” Mayer said.

Mayer said in this instance the suspects never did any work, but also didn’t get any money up front.

The suspects are described as two white men. One, who went by the name Tony, is about 5-feet, 8-inches tall with a slight build. He is described as bald with gray hair on the sides, is missing a front tooth and believed to be about 50 years of age.

The second suspect is described as ‘chunky’ with black hair and a beard. He is about 30-years-old and claimed to be Tony’s son. He wore a red nylon jacket.

Mayer said be wary of any contractor who tries to pressure you, talks to quickly or claims they have extra materials left over from another job.

“If they tell you that you need to do the work immediately that your safety is in danger. That’s often a scam that some people may use to try to pressure you into getting the work done,” Mayer said.

Mayer said anyone selling door-to-door must have a solicitors’ permit. If they don’t, you can call the Bloomington Police Department non-emergency number at (309) 820-888.

Police ask anyone with information regarding this case to contact officer Eric Riegelein at 820-8888 or [email protected].

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].