(KRON) \u2014 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\u2019s animal shelter.<\/p>\n
If she didn\u2019t pay to cover the surgery cost immediately, her dog would be killed at the shelter, the scammer\u2019s message threatened.<\/p>\n
City of San Jose Animal Care & Services officials said, \u201cThe message included an AI-generated photo of her pet and demanded payment to continue treatment, threatening euthanasia.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the dog owner contacted San Jose\u2019s shelter directly, staff members confirmed that her missing dog was not at their facility.<\/p>\n
Shelter workers said scammers are now using artificial intelligence to target and victimize people who have publicly posted online about their missing pets.<\/p>\n
\u201cScammers are using public lost pet posts and AI-generated content to create false urgency and pressure people into paying money,\u201d shelter officials wrote.<\/p>\n
City of San Jose Animal Care & Services said it will never request a payment through text, email, or social media.<\/p>\n
Bay Area turns to AI as whale deaths spike <\/a><\/p>\n To verify if your pet is at the shelter, community members can look through the city\u2019s pet database at bit.ly\/PetCompass<\/a>, or call the shelter directly at 408-794-7297.<\/p>\n