Missing dog scammers are bad enough... but AI fake photos is a new level of evil

On 12/23 we lost our dog. My whole family was in full panic mode, posting everywhere we could: Ring, Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram, all of it. Instead of help, we got swarmed by scammers almost immediately. We counted around 27 messages/calls. People saying they “found her” and demanding money. People offering fake drone services if we paid. One guy even pretended to be police and threatened us with a warrant. It was nonstop. What makes me the angriest is they used the exact info we posted (where she was last seen, details about her) to sound believable and mess with us. But the worst one was (929) 293-4760. He sent multiple AI generated pictures of “our dog” and tried to pressure us to send money right now. I could tell something was off, but my mom couldn’t. Watching her get her hopes up thinking we finally found our dog, then realizing it was fake, was honestly heartbreaking. I know people say “Miami scammers will scam,” but this is cruel. Using AI to imitate someone’s lost pet and play with a family’s emotions before Christmas for money is sick. If you’re dealing with a missing pet, please be careful. Don’t send money. Ask for a live video and make them prove it in a way you control. And if you’ve been through this too, I’m really sorry. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.