DELTONA, Fla. (WKMG/CNN/CNN Newsource/WKRC) – A family said their dog was abducted before scammers utilized artificial intelligence (AI) photos for the purpose of extortion.
A Florida family is warning others after they told WKMG someone tried to scam them while their missing dog was gone, using what they believe may have been altered images to demand money.
(WKMG/LYTTON COSENS/AI PICS/CNN/CNN Newsource/Lytton Cosens/AI pics)
Lytton Cosens told WKMG he returned home late Saturday after attending a hockey game to find one of his three dogs missing. His 11-year-old beagle mix, Archer, had disappeared from their Deltona neighborhood.
Cosens told WKMG he spent hours searching for the dog before receiving a call the next morning from someone claiming Archer had been hit by a car and needed emergency surgery.
“At first, we thought, ‘Oh my gosh, someone found him,’” Cosens told WKMG. “They asked if they had authorization to do surgery, and we said yes.”
The caller then demanded more than $2,700 for the procedure and requested payment through gift cards, which raised suspicion. Cosens told WKMG the person sent a photo that initially appeared to show Archer on an operating table.
“At first glance, it looked like my dog,” he told WKMG. “We were just thinking, ‘Is he going to live?’”
(WKMG/LYTTON COSENS/AI PICS/CNN/CNN Newsource/Lytton Cosens/AI pics)
After reviewing the images more closely, the family noticed differences in the dog’s fur pattern and saw that an X-ray included in the images was dated 2022. Cosens told WKMG that’s when they realized it was likely a scam.
Later that day, a neighbor told the family they had seen a woman pick up Archer after he got loose from the yard. According to the neighbor, the same woman returned several days later and dropped the dog off in front of the home.
Cosens told WKMG Archer appeared shaken but otherwise safe after being reunited with the family.
“The most important thing is we got him back,” he told WKMG. “He’s been through a lot.”
The family told WKMG the experience highlighted the risks of scams, including those that may involve manipulated or artificial intelligence-generated images, and urged others to be cautious if they receive similar calls.