Scammers will go to almost any length to profit from unsuspecting animal lovers, with the latest scam to hit the Northern Rivers targeting avian aficionados on Facebook.
Richmond Local Area Command police took to their Facebook page this morning to warn the public about these cretins selling cockatoos on a local ‘buy, swap and sell’ page.
‘A Ballina resident has seen and ad on a local ‘Buy/swap/sell’ site where two cockatoos were selling for $600.00,’ Richmond LAC police posted.
‘The seller wanted the money sent to another person’s account.’
Like all scams, the unsuspecting buyer fell victim to what they thought was a genuine advertisement and did not receive the cockatoos.
‘The $600 is probably in a Nigerian bank account by now,’ police posted.
Police reinforced the need to be wary of online sellers, especially if their is a link to Western Africa.
‘If there is a connection to a Western African seller, you may be placing yourself at risk of losing your money,’ police posted.
‘It does not hurt to do a Facebook and Google search on the sellers name either.’
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