Woman seeking lost parrot scammed out of $30

YOUNGSTOWN — A 63-year-old Boardman woman who received a call in response to an ad she placed in the newspaper about her lost African parrot was scammed out of $30, police said. The victim was told to meet a woman at St. Patrick Church on Oak Hill Avenue on Thursday. Instead, a young man met her, saying he had been instructed to take her to where she could recover the bird. The woman gave the man a ride in her car to a house on a side street near Hillman Street. She gave the man $30 and he walked to the rear of the house. He returned, saying the person who had the bird would not relinquish it, fearing he would sell it for more money and redirected her back to the church. The man rode back to the church with the bird owner and then left on foot. The woman then contacted police.