Scammers are using AI-generated photos in lost pet scheme, here’s how

PHOENIX (InvestigateTV) — Every year, millions of pets go missing. The search to bring them home can be stressful and scammers have capitalized on that vulnerability to cash in.

A Phoenix woman lost $1,300 to scammers who claimed to have found her missing dog and posed as a police officer to collect payment for veterinary bills.

Valerie Timm’s five-and-a-half-year-old pit bull lab mix named Nala escaped a couple of weeks ago. Timm posted fliers on social media and searched frantically for her pet.

“I’ve just been worried sick about her,” Timm said.

A caller claiming to be “Officer McGee” with Phoenix police contacted Timm, saying they had found Nala with a broken leg.

“He said his name was Officer McGee. They have my dog,” Timm said.

Scammer sent convincing photo

When Timm asked for proof, the caller quickly sent a photo showing Nala wearing her purple collar with distinctive face markings.

“I said her name is Nala, he goes yea, she’s responding to that name, wagging her tail. He made it very, very believable that he had her,” Timm said.

The caller then requested money for veterinary bills, saying the cost was roughly $1,700 but would accept whatever amount Timm could provide.

Timm borrowed $1,300 and sent it via Zelle. The caller gave her an address to retrieve Nala, which turned out to be an empty courthouse parking lot.

“Nobody there. Closed. Like Fort Knox. No lights. No nothing,” Timm said.

The photo was generated by AI using Timm’s missing pet posts, according to authorities.

Officials warn of frequent scams

Kim Powell with Maricopa County Animal Care & Control said the agency frequently hears about lost pet scams. Artificial intelligence is making the scams more believable.

“The first thing to remember is we are never going to ask for money over the phone for you to get your pet back,” Powell said.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez said police also never request payment for returning pets.

“Slow down. Let your emotions calm down a bit. Vet the information,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez warned against immediate requests for Zelle, Venmo or gift card payments, calling them red flags.

Money lost in scams is difficult to recover.

“The detectives will have to do a search warrant to see if that’s a number that can even be traced,” Fernandez said. “Hopefully that person made a mistake somewhere for us to be able to identify them.”

Timm continues searching for Nala.

“All I want is her home,” she cried.

Non-profit using AI to search for pets

While AI can be used to manipulate photos, some companies are using the technology to search for missing pets.

The non-profit Petco Love uses an AI-powered database to scan uploaded entries of lost and found pets as well as posts from shelters and community sites.

“We take multiple images of your animal and composite them and look at the potential matches, and we will show you the pets that are highly likely your match,” said Aaron Klein, Petco Love’s chief product officer. “So you don’t have to look through pages and pages and pages of pets.”

Klein said they’ve helped reunited more than 100,000 pets with their owners.