A Sydney student whose beloved cat went missing has warned other pet owners to stay alert after somebody allegedly tried to scam her using AI-generated photos.
Sarah, 18, had posted online and put up posters, after her 16-year-old black cat Cinda disappeared from Middle Street in Kingsford at about 9pm on May 5.
Not long after, she received an email from someone claiming they had found the cat.
The sender shared photos appearing to show a black cat sitting in a car and on a sofa, raising Sarah’s hopes that Cinda had been found.
But the situation quickly took a turn.
“If this happened to me it’s going to happen to someone else,” she told 9News.
Sarah said the person then demanded $200, including payment through Apple gift cards.
“They were like ‘I spent my last buck on her’. They were like, ‘Are you going to compensate me?’” she said.
Although desperate to find her pet, Sarah became suspicious after taking a closer look at the photos.
“I just knew it wasn’t her,” she said.
She said the messages also contained unusual grammar, and after questioning the sender further, they allegedly threatened they would “go and sell her”.
Sarah later arranged to meet the person at a local supermarket and attended with her mother, but nobody arrived.
“I’d give everything I have for her but we knew it was a scam,” she said.
The incident has since been reported to Scamwatch.
Sarah said police told her there was little they could do, but she hopes speaking publicly will help warn others.
“What they’re doing is extortion and it’s a crime,” she said.
“I would say question it – don’t just rely on your own judgement.”
Cinda remains missing. The cat has green eyes, with brown discolouration in one eye and sparse white fur beneath the black fur on her neck.
Images: 9News
