In the Scam of the day for August 29, 2023 I told you about, scammers posing as local humane societies or animal control officers calling pet owners who have lost pets telling them that they have found the pet and asking for an immediate payment over the phone in order to retrieve their lost pet.   Often pet owners who have lost their pets will post posters with photos and information about the lost pet which the scammers use to harvest information they can use to make their call appear legitimate.  Additionally, through a technique called “spoofing” it is a simple matter for the scammer to manipulate your Caller ID so that the call appears to have come from your local humane society or animal control officer.

Today people are even more likely to post on social media about missing pets and scammers are using AI to perpetrate missing pet scams more convincingly.  Recently in Deltona, Florida, Bill Cosens posted photos of his dog Archer who had been missing for a day on social media.  They soon got a call that appeared to come from a local animal control shelter veterinary service telling Cosens that Archer had been hit by a car and needed emergency surgery and that the cost was $2,746 which should be paid by gift cards..  When Bill Cosens and his wife asked to come see Archer they were told there was no time for that, but the phony vet service would send a photo of Archer being prepared for surgery which they promptly received.  Fortunately, the Cosens were skeptical, particularly about the vet demanding payment by gift cards which is something only scammers do and they did not fall for the scam although the AI created photo was very convincing.

The story has a happy ending, however, as Archer turned up a few days later.  Investigators determined that the call from the vet that appeared to come from Deltona actually came from India.  This scam has been reported in other states as well as scammers are able to get photos of missing dogs from social media and use AI to make convincing demands for payments.

TIPS

Neither humane societies nor animal control officers demand payment for returning lost pets.  If you do get such a call and think that it may be legitimate, you should merely hang up and call the real local humane society or local animal control officer at a phone number that you have confirmed is the correct one and not from what the scammer may appear to use.

As for the version of this scam targeting the Cosens, it can be hard to tell if a AI deepfake photo is legitimate, but demanding payment by gift cards is always an indication of a scam.

As a rule you should never give personal information or make a payment over the phone to anyone you have not called.  You can never be sure as to who is really calling.

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