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Is this person scamming me??


Goldengirl07

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So... this person wants to find a new home for her birds for free... and here is our ongoing emails back and forth... Please give me some insight if this person is a scammer!!

 

Her email:

 

hi,

Thanks for your mail regarding my African Grey birds. . do you have

children? do they love birds? do you have a VET around your locality

?Sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure my babies go to

a lovely home.there are still available to any one prepared to

provide them with enough care and love,where they will be well spoil

with all their needs......they are 14months old and has very good

temperament with kids and other pets,very playful love to play around

with toys and kids, they are health guaranteed and DNA tested. They

are up to date on all their shots and will be coming along side with

their health papers and vet records.they also speak English and are

very intelligent and highly social birds. they have a very extended

vocabulary they say hello, what, cracker Caesar, thank you, shut

up and many more they are very eager to learn and play..they are very

cute,their feathers are exquisite looking feathers and colors.they

are not screamers,of courser they do have some loud moments, but

that is normal and to be expected with a large bird they love their

showers.......they are called Rex and Nicky and i am actually giving

them out because they belonged to my daughter(Kelly) but with a

heavy heart i lost Kelly and she was all i got , i work with a

global,broad-based health care company devoted to discovering new

medicines, new technologies and new ways to manage health .Kelly died in

an accident last 3 weeks on her way back from her piano classes and i

have very bad memories when i see these birds around me,because she

was always together with them since i am always busy in the

laboratory. Rex and Nicky has been very lonely since Kelly passed

away so the best thing i decided on as my colleague advised me was to

look a a caring home who will promise to do just the best for them.

get back for more detail and heir most recent picture and tell me if you are ready to have this

little guys so i can start compiling all their legal document

because they will be coming along with the documents including some

toys they enjoy playing with.

 

Mine:

 

am so sorry to hear of your daughter, I have a 21 month old lil girl and another on the way...and I couldn't even imagine.

My mom actually bred Macaws and has an African Grey named Lucy...of whom I fell in love with because she talks like crazy.

The only problem is with my husband because we are moving to Virginia next month...and I want them but I don't know how to transport them since we will be driving. I would be honored to have them since I can introduce them to my daughters and they can grow up with the parrots. Where are you located, and can I have your number so I can contact you?

 

Thank you!

 

Hers:

 

thanks for the speedy response.i really do appreciate the interest you have for the birds i believe your home will be the right home for them. before we proceed with this, it will be an agreement between the two of us that you will never give out my babies for sale.i have never intended to give them up for sale. it will seem to me as i am giving out my own biological children for sale.what i need from you as the reward for my babies is to make sure you treat them with great love and affection. African Grey birds have the reputation as being the best talkers of the parrot kingdom. They have an uncanny ability to not only mimic speech, but mimic it in a voice that sounds quite human. They also imitate sounds with incredible accuracy, from dripping faucets to construction equipment. Be careful about uttering any words you don't want them to learn, since they seem to have a knack for learning just what you don't want them to learn!. they will be coming along side to you with all their legal document and a cage which i am going to deliver them inside. i will equally include some toys they enjoy playing with and also a hand book which is going to guide you on their likes and dislikes ok. i am in Moline. where precisely are you located???? below are some pictures of the birds. the male is called Rex and the female is called Nicky. hope you will love them so much. let me know if you are ready for them so that i can start arranging every thing that they will be coming along with. looking forward to read from you

 

Mine:

 

Ma'am,

I would never sell these birds, that is not my intentions. I have always wanted an African Grey as my own because I watched my mom nurture and raise her parrots..and I have been fortunate that I have exposure and knowledge of these amazing parrots.

 

Hers:

 

soundsgreat. now that you are a bit far from me.. i don't know how this transaction is going to work. will you love to came and receive the birds here in Moline,IL or you will love me to make arrangment for them to be delivered to you. let me know what you think as soon as possible.

 

 

(Umm...I have only given her my first name and my number...to call me and work out the details..what bothers me is she hasn't given me her number yet. I could have them transported on a plane..but I would pay the airline not her...although, we haven't discussed those arrangements yet!):unsure: and for doing the occupation that she does...her English sucks.

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Uhhhhh... this smells a little fishy. I bet if you follow though with the deal there's going to be some "fee/cost/expense" that will crop up along with a lot of apologies. I've read stories about people getting a great deal shipped to them for a small fee. Then when the item shows up, the shipper wants to collect a large amount to release the item.

 

A little voice in the back of my head is crying "scam, scam, scam".

 

How did you hear about this?

 

Tom

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It is hard to say.The lady is not asking you for money up front which is the usual scam.With regards to cotact numbers, ask her directley for her rnumber. If she has just lost her daughter she must be distraught at the moment and probabley not thinking of everything.Try talking to her in person and get a better feeling for the situation.If it progresses any further my advise would be to pick the birds up yourself and have them vet checked asap.Also make sure they are quarantined from any of your other birds..I must say though that if things sound too good to be true they usually are.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2009/05/02 07:35

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Tom's right it just doesn't feel right and be very careful, do all the checks you can. Even ask for her vets number so you can call the vet and ask.

 

A few things concern me about her emails. The fact she says they are all up to date on their shots, she obviously has no clue as they would not have needed any shots, so I find this weird.

 

Also strange she hasn't given you her number if she is so concerned about her babies going to a good home you would think that would be the first thing she did as I am sure you would call her to reassure her you are a good canidate and that she would want that. You even asked for the number and she didn't give it.

 

She is also very quick to say yours would be the right home for them after only a couple of emails and

no direct contact by phone. She hardly knows anything about you and if they are so precious to her then you would think she would want more details.

 

Be careful Goldengirl.

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It is probably assumptive of me but I think that a woman who has lost her daughter on the contrary: wants to keep everything that reminded her of her daughter with her. This doesn't sound right.

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I agree with both Jane08 & FairY I also wondered "what shots?" and I belive that someone who has lost a daughter would want to hang on to the things her daughter loved or owned. Also this woman does seem to be trying to hurry you into a decision.

 

My advice is to take your time, proceed with care and an open mind. Good luck.

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Yea...she keeps scurrying around my questions, especially the phone number!! It is like I am being repetitive about contact over the phone. I told my husband that I wouldn't give her money to have them shipped but straight to the airlines. We are in two completely different states.

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I had the question about shots and, like the others, I think she made the decision to 'give' them to you really fast. It also seems there is some awkwardness in the language which could be a grieving woman typing quickly, but could also be someone whose first language is not english, and we all know the places in the world where African Grey scams often originate.

 

It just hit me as I'm typing this why it sounds fishy. The text in her second e-mail that starts with the sentence "African Grey birds have the reputation . . ." sounds really familiar. I think it is cut and pasted from a previous thread that came through here quite a while ago that turned out to be a scam. Anyone else remember that?

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I really think it sounds like a scam too. My advice is if you want the birds, pick them up in person and ONLY exchange any money if you have the birds in your possession. The language in her e-mails just seems not quite right, and she doesn't even ask you any questions about how you will care for the birds or anything. If she cared about them at all, she would be questioning you more about your home environment, how much time out of cage the birds will get, what vet you go to, etc. I'd say, WATCH OUT!!

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