Scammers Exploit Missing-Pet Owners With AI-Faked Photos, Demanding Ransoms and Threatening to Kill Cats

Stephanie Young was at the bank taking out cash when she let herself believe Buddy was coming home. The foster carer from Birmingham had spent days after he vanished from her garden in September last year posting his details on pet rescue sites and social media groups. Then a woman calling herself Melissa sent a photo, said she had been feeding the cat, and asked for reward money for her autistic grandchildren. Young was "100% certain" it was him, and remembers thinking he had chosen a lovely garden to sit in.

Within hours she had agreed to meet Melissa nearby to collect him. Melissa never turned up. She refused cash and pushed instead for 100 Apple gift cards. When Young discovered the images of Buddy were AI-generated and questioned who she was dealing with, the tone changed. Threats came that the pet would be sold or murdered.

Young is one of a growing number of owners caught in the same scam. Fraudsters use AI to fake pictures of missing animals, build detailed backstories and manufacture evidence that the pet has been found. When owners balk at paying hundreds of pounds, the abuse and threats begin. Fraud in the UK has surged as criminals adopt AI, with almost £1.3bn stolen by scammers in 2025. Young said she felt "upset and angry at how anybody could be so evil." She also described the pull of it: "every inch of your body wants that cat back," and the more scammers ask, the more you think you had better do it. It is now thirteen months since Buddy disappeared, and he has not been found.

Cam Chauhan, a 55-year-old supermarket worker from Wednesbury, had a similar experience. Her cat Creed went missing in July last year. Nine months later she received an "exact picture" of him sitting in a back garden and instantly believed he had been found. She called the day an emotional rollercoaster. She cried, grabbed her cat bag from the garage and said, "let's go get my cat back." Then her daughters raised doubts that the images could be fake and questioned handing over money before Creed was returned.

A meeting point was agreed, but the scammer would not appear until gift cards worth £200 had been bought and sent by text. Chauhan refused. "We just went back home. It was very upsetting," she said, adding that she has been waiting ever since. Anyone who has lost a pet, she said, "would do anything" to get them back, but to hand money over and be scammed is not right.

Sarah Robinson, from Northampton, was contacted two weeks after her cat Cookie disappeared by a man named Kherson H, who said he had the animal. On the phone he seemed vague about location and stumbled over his words, but she did not at first doubt the photo he sent of Cookie outside a window. After a while he demanded £40,000 and sent a money transfer link. Robinson refused, and he threatened to kill Cookie. She said she was "really, really worried" about the cat's safety. "It's horrible, because you know it's not real but you're terrified it might be."

All three women have reported what happened to Report Fraud, which is run by City of London Police. It advises owners to arrange to see their pet in person before handing over any money and to stay alert to criminals.

Dr Rasha Kassem, a senior academic at Aston University, said AI now plays a major role in online fraud because tasks that were once technically difficult have become "super easy, accessible and free." "Just because it looks genuine, doesn't make it real," she said. She is concerned about the lack of public awareness and guidance, noting that criminals like to create urgency and that victims should take time to think. She does not encourage engaging with people demanding money and threatening pets; she advises collecting as much information as possible and reporting it to the authorities.

Pawboost, a free platform that helps track down missing pets, recommends asking for specific proof such as a short video or video call showing a unique feature of the pet; meeting in a safe public place; and asking questions only a real finder could answer, such as what collar the animal was wearing or details of its personality that would not be visible online.