Bloomington Police Department reports

The Bloomington Police Department is warning residents about a phone-sweepstakes scam.\nAn elderly woman received a phone call Tuesday telling her she had won an “extravagant amount of money,” BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada said, reading from a police report.\nThe scammers called the woman again and told her she needed to withdraw and wire transfer money to them to cover fees and taxes, Canada said. The swindlers then called the woman again, telling her not to wire transfer the money. Instead, they said they were going to pick her up and take her to the bank.\nWhile on the phone, the con artists asked the elderly woman if she was alone or if there were any children in the house, Canada said. The woman told police the scammers told her to keep it a secret.\nCanada warned residents about two possible signs of a telephone scam: receiving a call about a reward when you haven’t entered a sweepstakes, and being asked for money after being told you’ve won. \n“Whatever they can make up to scam you, they will,” he said.\nCanada said anyone who received a similar phone call should contact BPD at 349-4477.\nAttempted burglar leaves crime scene with one shoe\nBPD is looking for the man who attempted to burglarize 17th Street Coin Laundry, located at 621 W. 17th St. \nOfficers were dispatched to the laundromat at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when the business’s burglar alarms sounded, Canada said.\n17th Street Coin Laundry houses washers and dryers in the front of the store and tanning beds in the back. At night, the washer and dryer area stays open while a steel gate barricades the tanning beds and management offices, Canada said. \nOn the surveillance tape, officers noticed the suspect climbing onto a soda machine in an attempt to crawl through the ceiling and over the gate, Canada said. While attempting to climb over the gate, the suspect set off the alarms.\nOfficers said the suspect on the tape left the laundromat with only one shoe. BPD found the shoe, a 6 1/2 Perry Ellis brand boot in the store and located the suspect’s other shoe west of the business, Canada said.\nAnyone with information about the suspect is asked to call BPD at 349-4477.