Scam alert!!!!

Hi guys,
I've been looking to adopt a macaw and I thought I had found the right one, or in this case the perfect two.
So yesterday I had contacted a listing ad that I saw on craigslist. It was about two blue and gold macaw looking for a loving home.
After emailing the owner last night and just waiting with excitement, I finally got a reply this morning. I recieved pictures and was asked a few questions. Looking at the pictures, I fell in love with them right away.
Questions such as are you a breeder? Are they going to be in a loving home? Do you have kids?

Then the woman, Elizabeth Joss told me that she lives in Seattle, Wa. And she was giving them away because they were a painful memory of her daughters tragic death. That her daughter died on her way home from piano lessons. After emailing back and forth about the questions that we has for each other she said that she can ship them for me today. I thought it was perfect. here i was getting two 6 months 3 week old Blue and gold macaw names Angel and Belly. and they were coming with all their medical records. i was thrilled. I've never had any experience with shipping something alive. I had no idea what the procedure was and had to look it up.

She told me that she doesn't want any money for them, that she just wanted to find them a loving home. And I would only have to pay $240.00 for the shipment via western union. They will be shipped to the airport and then shipped directly to my door. I told her, that will be great. About one and a half hours later, I got a call from Global Airways Cargo Department, the man had a deep African accent; I wasn't sure what part of Africa but I knew it was a thick African accent. Saying that I have to make the payment, and the information needed will be in an incoming email. I told them that I wanted to pick up the birds at the airport myself and I didn't want to risk them bring delivered at the wrong house. (Silly naive me)

But right as I was about to make the payment via western union online system, I had a deep gut feeling that this was a scam. It was too good to be true. People just don't ship their pets to the unknown. (In this case me being the unknown, I mean she doesn't know me at all). So I checked the email with thr shipping information and did about 10 minutes of research.

From what it looks like, their Global Airways website seemed fake. And going through the information given, they keep calling the parrots, 'puppies'. Then waht really tipped me off was that the money will be sent to Cameroon. It didn't make sense. If I live on Long Island and she lives in Seattle, Wa. What does Cameroon have to do with anything? Then I saw that the receiver's name for the payment was 'Fang Ransome Fung'. At thr bottom it signed, Secretary, Mrs. Chris Gold. My heart dropped as i sat there just reading thd information page over and over and over over; until finally i stopped and stared at the screen. I was sad, disappointed, shocked, amazed, angry and all sorts of emotions ran through me all at once. And I'm a 21 year old guy so this flood of emotion was too much for me. I instantly got headache; I still have it now.

I couldn't believe that people would do something like this. I emailed them, telling them that I knew it was a scam and I was very disappointed. And they should stop hurting people. My entire family is heart broken by this. I'm wondering whose birds are these and if someone is taking great care of them; god knows I would have, but I guess they weren't meant for me. Or if they were random google images.

I learned a few things today. The good thing is that I didn't pay them. They do not have my credit card information or anything like that. And i learnt that im never ever going to buy any animal without seeing it in person, shipping an animal is way to risky, and I'm not buying animals online. I'm just left with this sad feeling over me. I'm telling you guys this, so that you guys don't get caught into a scam. We all have to pay for our actions some time or another; theirs isn't too far. One day I will get the macaw that is meant for me.

Every day I lose a little more faith in the human race.

I was in the exact same situation as you. I have learned that if its true good to be true, then it probably is!! A lady wanted to give me her african grey and said she would ship them to me, and I would pay for the shipping. I told her I wanted to pick them up and the address she gave me was for a best western hotel! It amazes me how people can be so dodgy and heartless. Hopefully by posting this less people will get sucked into these scams.

I never never pay for thing's unless I can go and pick them up even if its a 8 hour drive, only thing's i get and pay up front is from ebay and that's only if its with paypal.

I really sorry that you had to go through this; there are no words to describe the disappointment. I can't believe or even wrap my mind around what they are doing. Like do they sit there one day and think, "i'm going to start a scaming business, there are kind hearted people out there;I will feed on their kindness." And it's pretty crazy that they actually thought of this and carried out the plan, because they set up a fake airline website, post the ads, send shipping info, have different correspondents and such. Some people are truly disgusting!

Same here. Hyacinth macaw for me. Woman lived in a far away place, wanted shipping to save her beauty from war and cannibalism.

I wouldn't worry about the birds...I'd bet they were random photos. Glad you realised before you parted with any money.

If something sounds too good to be true: it is.

Samething happened to me... pair of CAGs.. told me all about them, emails back and forth several times and then they tell me the birds are in Florida and I need to pay shipping but no rehoming fee

If people would just remember that if it sounds to good to be true it usually is, they wouldn't be seperated from their money nearly as easily.

Usually, they steal images from the internet and advertise the birds as their own... so yes, the birds are usually in safe, happy homes!

Glad you were able to figure out it was a scam before sending money! Often times, once that money goes through, you can't get it back! Another scam involves them sending you money, then you sending back the "difference". Unfortunately, they send you a bad check, and that money ends up coming out of your account...


I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there is a company(s) in Africa that sets up a building full of people posting all over the world for pets for sale. It's not only that, but people also buying products and using local business names to you to make them appear real. My company has been scammed twice. Once for a laptop, and once for thousands of dollars worth of toners! I don't know much about the laptop, but I do know that the toners were shipped to a Mailbox Etc place where it was then shipped to Africa. We didn't discover the scam until everything was already in Africa and we couldn't stop the shipment. The scammers went as far as finding a local business to us and then portraying themselves as that business. Small business equals hard it.


I know that in China, I've heard that companies set up a business of "gold farmers". That is, a bunch of people playing games together (WOW, Runescape, Guild Wars, etc). They are usually trying to make gold/gp/cash in game and/or armor, weapons, etc, then selling that stuff for cash in real life. Many games are against Real World Trading, as it gives an unfair advantage to players who do that.


I would like to say though, a lot of people buy birds from breeders in different states, and some people even adopt/buy birds from owners over the internet in different states. Sometimes, such as large communities where members are spread throughout a large area, a "train" can be set up to transport the bird from where it currently lives to it's new home. This can be across several states, taking several hours, even days!



If a bird isn't local to you and you want to adopt/buy it (from an owner, not a breeder), then find someone who is local who can go check out the bird.... friends, family, rescue center, etc. You can also have the owner take a picture of themselves with their bird and to hold up a piece of paper with something written on it. That's something scammers can't do!



I adopted a mitred conure through a member of another forum. At the time, she couldn't provide photos (and we had assumed he was a cherry head, not mitred), but we did talk over the phone. I had a friend drive me down to her place, I stayed with her for a short while, then my friend drove me back home. She lives in a different state than I do, and over 200 miles away. She never asked for an adoption fee for him, either, even after all the money she shelled out for two surgeries on him! (the little stinker! )




In short, just be careful and make sure that whoever you speak with/deal with/buy from is reliable.

I live in long island too! I live in Suffolk county, I never get birds off Craig list. It's very easy that somebody could type up a phoney story and then make up a price. I either get them from a breeder or a reliable pet store. I know a breeder on long island,it's a very good breeder I'm thinking of getting my conure from their . It's called Manorville Aviary , they breed cockatoos , macaws and other species of birds. I live in manorville , so its right near me . I think you should call! Just type it in on google . I would never believe somebody would sell 2 baby b&g macaws for 200 , a green cheek costs more.

Most of the scam photos are pics from the internet, people love stealing photos from the bird tricks.com flickr account.

Here's a recent blog post from Jamie of BirdTricks.com. They are always notifying their subscribers about new scams and many times they are even using their bird pics.
How to Spot & Avoid Online Parrot Selling Scams