The Newshound

Cruel scammers use AI to fake photos of missing pets and threaten to kill them unless owners pay ransom

An AI-generated picture of Buddy (left) and a genuine photograph of him, sent to Stephanie Young after she questioned a scammer who threatened to sell or murder her missing cat unless she paid.
An AI-generated picture of Buddy (left) and a genuine photograph of him, sent to Stephanie Young after she questioned a scammer who threatened to sell or murder her missing cat unless she paid.

Scammers are harvesting missing-pet posts from social media, running owners' own photographs through AI image generators, and sending the doctored results as fabricated "proof" that the animal has been recovered. They then demand gift cards, wire transfers of tens of thousands of pounds, or threaten to kill the pet unless payment is made. Fraud losses reached almost £1.3 billion in 2025 as the problem continues to grow.

Neena Chauhan was approached on WhatsApp by a scammer claiming to be a 'deaconess', who sent a deepfake image of her mother's cat, Creed, and demanded a £200 Apple gift card.

Gift cards are the fraudsters' preferred payment method because the money cannot be recovered once sent — and they never possess the animal in the first place.

MoreDaily Mail NewsScammers turn to AI to generate fake pictures of missing cats in bid to fleece owners of reward cashNew York PostAI scammers target pet owners with fake pics and demands for ransom — or their fur baby dies - New York PostMashableScammers are using AI to fake images of lost pets, demand ransom for their return, according to reportBBCScammers using AI-generated images of missing pets to demand reward money - BBCITVCat carer from Birmingham targeted by AI scammers after pet went missing
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