Pet Scams on Craigslist- Hyacinth Macaws

I often look at Craigslist, and find it interesting to look for scams in the pet section. I see adds on Craigslist Pets that are obviously scams all the time. In this post, and the next, I will address some common scam techniques and how to avoid them.

Adds for Hyacinth Macaw are virtually always scams. For those of you who don't know, Hyacinths are huge vibrant blue parrots. They are rarely seen outside of zoos and cost tens of thousands to buy.

Adds for a free Hyacinth Macaw are scams. Absolutely guaranteed. No one in their right mind would give away for free something worth 10-20 thousand dollars!

If the add calls the bird just "parrot" or "macaw" or "macaw parrot" it is almost certainly a scam.

If the add has a picture that has been used on another website, it is a scam.

These adds almost always have pictures of these beautiful birds. That means nothing! These photos are either stock photos or stolen from other websites!

Here is an example of a HM scam add. 

"I have a female hyacinth Macaw that I needs to be re-homed. She is very sweet, tame parrot. I work extra hours and am unable to spend time with the bird. The parrot is 2 years old and will easily adapt to a new place."

Note the mistakes used in the add. Almost all scam adds that I have seen have spelling and/or grammar errors. A lot of pet scams are based in Cameroon, Africa, or other non-English speaking countries.

It would also seem more legit if the add mentioned, for example, the bird's name. The bird is referred  to as "female hyacinth macaw", "she", "parrot", and "bird", but never using a real name for the pet. Most legit-seeming pet adds mention the name of the animal.

Scam adds often seem to have a "story" about "why I am getting rid of the pet".

This is another scam- even more obvious than the first!

 "home trained ,very friendly with kids and other home pets.comes with accessories and play toys."

Note that there is no capitalization nor distinct sentences.

Also note the use of "home" when "house" would be the more appropriate word. "home trained", "home pets".  

Parrots are rarely "house trained" as are dogs. Yet many scam adds say that their Hyacinth Macaw is.

In fact, many scam adds for parrots and scam email replies (which are found online on some scam reporting sites) have reference to the bird being house broken/trained, walking a leash, being spayed or neutered, up to date on shots, and other terms used to describe dogs.

If you desperately want a Hyacinth Macaw (which make very poor pets for most people, by the way), find a legitimate breeder. The breeder should have a website, or at least an add on a bird-specific selling website. The breeder should also try to make sure you will properly care for the bird, and will charge a high fee.

The main way to prevent a scam is to see the animal IN PERSON! Another common scam tactic, apparently used very often with puppies, is to claim to send the pet by air plane while you pay by Western Union.

I will address this  further in the next post.