‘I was infuriated': Cat owner warns of missing pet scam

A Massachusetts woman is grateful to have her missing cat back home, but she’s warning fellow pet owners that her search led her to scammers.

Luna ran off on Halloween night and was missing for five days. Her owner, Stacey Ota, put up flyers around Somerville and on social media.

About two days later, Ota said she received a text from someone claiming to have found Luna. The person said they wanted to meet in a public place.

Before they met, that person kept asking if they were going to be paid.

Ota told them they could talk about it in person. But after waiting half an hour, Ota realized the person wasn’t coming.

To sound more convincing, the scammer sent what Ota believes was an AI-generated image of Luna

“I was infuriated. I kind of don’t understand how somebody can do something like that to somebody, especially when they know that you’re missing your pet and you want nothing more than just to have them back,” Ota said.

This isn’t the first time a scam like this has been reported in Massachusetts. This summer, an Everett dog owner paid a service found on Facebook to find her dog. They claimed they found him, only to demand more money in exchange.

Police recommend to meet up and do exchanges at a police station for safety and never send someone money online that you don’t know. If you have been a victim of something like this, you’re urged to file a police report at your local station.