Pet Birds and the Cameroon Pet Scam
Non-Existent Exotic Animals and Hyacinth Macaws
The Cameroon pet scam is, unfortunately, a common online con that has burnt many a hopeful parrot buyer. The pet scam gets its name because many of the scams originate in the African country of Cameroon, much as the Nigerian widow scam has its origins in Nigeria.
Here’s how it works. The scammer posts on an online forum or classified ads board, offing to sell either rare parrots or other animals. Parrots and birds are a popular lure, as are expensive purebred dogs and cats. Some pet scams even offer to sell exotic animals such as monkeys, antelopes and big cats.
Popular choices for pet scam parrots include hyacinth macaws, the larger cockatoos, and highly endangered birds (some scams have offered the Spyx macaw, which is believed to be extinct in the wild). The price for the parrots or exotic animals is very low, and the scammer usually implies that the low price is because he / she is more interested in finding a good home for the pets than profit. The location given for the birds is usually somewhere in the United States.
Once the scam victim contacts the “seller,” the scam artist explains that he / she is currently doing missionary work in Cameroon (The scam is also popular in the Sudan and the Central Africa Republic). He’d be delighted to sell the parrots, but as they are in Cameroon with him, the buyer will need to pay for shipping, handling, and export duties.
Presuming the victim buys this, he or she sends off payment to Cameroon (or wherever the scam artist is). Usually the scammer insists on payment by money order, which is almost impossible to trace when cashed. Then the seller contacts the buyer again.
Seems there was trouble down at the Cameroon missionary. Sometimes they’re out of food for the children. Sometimes the roof of the mission fell in. Either way, the seller is forced to increase the price of the hyacinth macaws or whatever parrot he’s claiming to sell. Sometimes the pet scam takes a slightly different tack and the scammer claims that new duties or export taxes have appeared and need paying. Each time the victim sends more money, new disaster or export charge appears. Eventually, hundreds of dollars out of pocket (if not thousands), the buyer gives up in frustration.
Spotting a Cameroon Pet Scam
There are several ways to detect a Cameroon pet scam. Always be wary of ads that offer exotic animals at strangely low rates. A hyacinth macaw, for instance, sells for $10,000 to $13,000. Any ad offering to sell two hyacinth macaws (and their cage!) for $1,500 has to be viewed very suspiciously.
Any ad offering to sell wild caught or endangered parrots should be avoided: pet scams aside, it’s unethical and cruel to buy wild caught birds and against CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The same should apply to any exotic animals.
Watch for poor grammar and spelling mistakes. Anyone to be selling a hyacinth macaw should at least be able to spell the name correctly! Many of the Cameroon pet scams are run by people with limited written English skills, whether or nor English is their first or second language.
If responding to a posted ad, become suspicious if the seller is out of the country, and especially if he or she is doing Cameroon missionary work. Also, and this is one of the big warning signs, never agree to send money orders to the seller. Once cashed, there’s no way to get your money back.
Resources
Pets on the Net. Internet Pet Scams.
