(KRON) — A dog owner who lost her beloved pet recently received an alarming text message that included an AI-altered photo of her dog. The message claimed that the dog had been found and was in urgent need of emergency surgery at San Jose’s animal shelter.
If she didn’t pay to cover the surgery cost immediately, her dog would be killed at the shelter, the scammer’s message threatened.
City of San Jose Animal Care & Services officials said, “The message included an AI-generated photo of her pet and demanded payment to continue treatment, threatening euthanasia.”
When the dog owner contacted San Jose’s shelter directly, staff members confirmed that her missing dog was not at their facility.
Shelter workers said scammers are now using artificial intelligence to target and victimize people who have publicly posted online about their missing pets.
“Scammers are using public lost pet posts and AI-generated content to create false urgency and pressure people into paying money,” shelter officials wrote.
City of San Jose Animal Care & Services said it will never request a payment through text, email, or social media.
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To verify if your pet is at the shelter, community members can look through the city’s pet database at bit.ly/PetCompass, or call the shelter directly at 408-794-7297.
In February, the same shelter was bombarded by phone calls and messages from people concerned about a little white dog named Lumi. The wave of concern was triggered by a “false AI-generated” photo posted by a Facebook group called “Saving Shelter Dogs from Euthanasia,” according to the shelter.
In the AI photo, a dog is huddled in the corner of a metal enclosure. The photo’s caption falsely warned, “She needs someone to walk in now and choose her before this becomes her final night.”
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