A stranger claims to have your missing pet and demands gift cards before returning it
A scammer spots a missing-pet post on social media, uses AI to generate convincing photos of your pet in apparent distress, then claims to be a vet or shelter demanding gift cards or crypto for "treatment" before returning the animal.
Also known as: missing pet scam, lost dog AI scam, pet rescue extortion, fake found-pet call
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Demand a live video call showing your pet with your pet's name spoken aloud — scammers can't fake live footage
- 2 Contact local shelters, vets, and animal control directly using numbers you find yourself, not numbers from the caller
- 3 Never pay via gift card, crypto, or Zelle for any pet-related emergency — legitimate vets accept card payments through their billing system
- 4 Reverse-search any photo the caller sends: right-click (or long-press) to search Google Images; AI fakes often turn up mismatches
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ The caller knows your pet's appearance from your social media posts or lost-pet flyers
- ⚠ They send AI-generated photos of your pet looking injured or in an unfamiliar location
- ⚠ Payment is demanded via gift card, cryptocurrency, Zelle, or Cash App — never through a vet's billing system
- ⚠ They claim to be a vet, shelter, animal control, or police but can't provide a verifiable address or name
- ⚠ Urgent pressure: 'pay now or your pet will be sold / euthanized / relocated'
- ⚠ They refuse a video call or live verification that they actually have your pet