Oakland pet owner looking for her lost dog targeted by scammers using AI
Alisa Harrell hasn't seen her 1-year-old French bulldog, Dash, in four months, and she is now warning that people should be wary of scammers who are trying to take advantage of people looking for their lost pets
"I was walking my garbage out to the curb, and he went to use the restroom. And then after he just dashed off. His name is Dash for a reason, so he dashed," Harrell said.
Harrell searched far and wide with no luck. She turned to the Internet for help, posting pictures and details about Dash's disappearance on several apps to no avail.
"I posted PawBoost, LOVE Pet, their apps, Harrell said. "I reported to the SPCAs in the Bay Area."
After months of failed search efforts and unanswered posts, she finally got a lead: a text message from an anonymous person claiming they had Dash.
But there was a catch.
"They wanted money. I said, 'I don't have a problem giving you the $300.' And they were like, 'Well, can you send $150 via Zelle or Cash App or something?' and I'm like, 'No, I want my dog,'" Harrell said. "Then, they just kind of basically went ghost on me," Harrell said.
Harrell told CBS News Bay Area she'd pay the money for her dog's safe return if the texts were real. But small details weren't right. People using Nextdoor agreed.
"People were responding, kind of trended on Nextdoor. And then this one girl said, 'You know, that could be AI-generated," Harrell said.
For starters, the picture they sent of Dash featured decor eerily similar to the original photo Harrell had posted months earlier. Not to mention there was a dead giveaway in the corner of the photo.
"If you look at the picture, yeah, right here," Harrell said. "If you look in the picture, there's the AI diamond right there."
AI scams like this one are on the rise. The FBI's 2025 Internet crime report showed 22 thousand reports — All AI-related. Ones like these are classified as confidence or romance scams because they prey on the emotions of others.
"We love our pets. We'll do anything for them. You know, I would have given the $300 for my dog," Harrel said. "So, you know, just saddens me that that's where we are today with AI."
While Harrell didn't fall for this scam. She wants her story to be a lesson for others.
"I'm just glad that I wasn't a victim of it," Harell said.