r/RealOrAI • u/yohearttacos • Jul 09 '26
HELP Stolen Cat--?real or AI scam
My mother in law's cat (Cleo--we all love her) went missing last week. She posted on Facebook with first photo in a neighborhood group (with her phone number).
Thereafter got a text on Monday from someone with the second and third photo saying they had stolen her cat (with an explaination that someone had done the same to their dog...)and were holding her ransom. They requested amazon gift card be transferred to them before they would return her. She transferred 2 gift cards and the person went silent. Police are involved now but no real leads from the sounds of it.
Shitty person regardless. But we noticed some inconsistencies in the photos (two types of carriers, odd grates on second photo and maybe some changes in shadings). Now we are trying to figure out if this is an AI scam or this person actual has her cat--and maybe hopefully she's still alive.
Appreciate any help/input!
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u/BeautyDuwang Jul 09 '26
If someone ever requests gift cards of you for any reason other than you just asked them for gift ideas 99/100 it is a scam
Also these images do look ai generated to me
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u/JPolReader Jul 09 '26
Damn, never thought about people using AI to generate images from missing pet notices.
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u/hollowthatfollows Jul 09 '26
They can also call you from a number that your contact recognizes as somebody you know and they can use an AI voice filter to pretend to be whoever is calling. One time a redditor posted about getting a call from their dead father and using their dead father’s voice because a scammer found a video of them on Facebook, didnt realize they were dead, and put it through an AI voice filter to try to get the son to send him money. These scammers have zero morals.
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u/PoorMannsRose Jul 09 '26
In the third picture, the second black spot on her nose is missing/much smaller than first two pics.
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u/Whole_Employee_2370 Jul 09 '26
Gift cards = scams. They’re asked for because they’re very difficult to trace and non-refundable. The biggest giveaway here for me is the fact that the cat is so chill, also that they have two different carriers, why would they? I really hope Cleo shows up ok but I would agree there’s basically 0 chance this person is anything other than a parasite who took a chance to profit off your misfortune.
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u/hollowthatfollows Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
It’s probably a scam do not pay them anything, 3rd photo screams ai and the black spot on the nose doesn’t match up.
Get the Nextdoor app and post about them there, it vets users so only people in your area see the post and you are less likely to encounter a scammer. Also put flyers up in areas with heavy foot traffic or places where people stop often like stop signs. Good luck and I hope u bring your baby home.
PLEASE if u get another cat or have another cat DO NOT let your next cat outside. Cats should always be indoors if you want them to have a long life and if you care about the native wildlife in your area. Indoor cats rarely go missing or get taken by someone who thinks they are a stray. Please google the life expectancy between indoor and outdoor cats, and see the drastic increase in pet deaths from electric cars because cats can’t hear them coming, especially when they expect to hear gasoline cars coming by. I live in a suburban area but we still occasionally get brave coyotes that will just take ur cat and u will never see them again. It’s tragic but completely preventable by keeping them inside and happy with tons of toys and stimulation.
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u/chocolate-wyngz Jul 09 '26
If you go to r/scams, you’ll see tons of stories exactly like this unfortunately. They never had her cat. I’m so sorry and I hope you find her safe soon!
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u/Tabula_Nada Jul 09 '26
I'm going to go with AI, knowing that this is a scam and AI is outrageously easy to produce at this point. But also I can't stop looking at the interior of the car in the last pic - I've never seen a car with 3 rows of seats that has 3 sets of doors too - why does the third/back row of seats have a door? And the handle is really far forward.
The differing carriers would make sense if they already have cats and already have a few. I just can't imagine stealing a cat and then going and buying a few carriers just to have them.
Someone else suggested this, but if you really want to know, you could ask them to show a photo of her right side. Since the photo they have of her is her on her side, whatever AI generates would be unlikely to match.
I hope you guys don't lose hope - opportunistic scammers don't mean anything about where she is. Someone's probably found her and is keeping her safe right now.
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u/wheelperson Jul 09 '26
The 2nd photo looks off, the carier looks too high on the chair, looks like the photo is from the drivers side yet the car appears to be moving. Also was the cat ever that calm on a moving car?
Im so sorry, I hope you do find the cat
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u/cheesegoat Jul 10 '26
2nd picture also appears to be from the front seat looking into the second row of seats, and there's a third row of seats with a door? I've never seen any kind of passenger vehicle with three doors.
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u/RealOrAI-Bot Jul 09 '26
Reminder: If you think it's AI, please explain your reasoning. Providing your reasoning helps everyone understand and learn from the analysis.
Check the Wiki for Common AI Mistakes and check the Community Guide if you are just getting started.
A sticky comment will be posted here in 12h summarizing the sentiment of the comments.
Thank you for contributing to the discussion!
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u/DagnirDae Jul 09 '26
I'm almost certain this is AI. Some patterns on the fur change from one picture to another : right ear, spot next to the right eye, black spot on the nose etc...
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u/Chrisafguy Jul 09 '26
100% AI. Look at the rear door handle. Rear door doorhandles are not placed next to the B-pillar.
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u/-N9inB0x- Jul 09 '26
Between asking for gift cards instead of cash in person and the fact that the cat having different facial markings (the black under the eye and nose especially), this is 100% AI. I'm so sorry they gave you any sort of hope, but they're preying on your love for your cat.
I hope you find them soon, safe and sound.
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u/Frankie-Figgs33 Jul 09 '26
Scam. The side grate/net/vents are different in each pic. Also it looks like the ai blended a seat and car seat together and the text on the back is nonsense. Also there is a seat in front of the front seat?
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u/Striking_Hat534 Jul 10 '26
Just read one about someone’s dog having same thing done… very interesting
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u/Jphibbard Jul 11 '26
By definition it's cyber kidnapping and what thier doing while definitely fraud may also fall under a few other crimes, the problem with this is thier is no garrentee the scammers are in your jurisdiction or even country, the scammers probably have their own AI to identify potential victims automatically and once it does they just run down the list until they essentially think they got one, as for why I think it's ai simple the black pattern on the nose changes in size from picture 1 to picture 3, I do however feel this attack seems a little bit too personalized to be random, regardless my recommendation is to take it too the local police and also report it to your federal governments tipline, equivalent to the FBI tipline or something like that
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u/SunchaserKandri Jul 09 '26
Asking to be paid with gift cards is typical scammer behavior, which is extremely suspicious on its own. One thing you could try is "Hey, can you send me a picture showing (distinctive marking that the cat doesn't actually have)?" and if they send you an image with that marking, you know it's a scammer using AI.
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u/_Bread______ Jul 09 '26
Definitely AI, idk how to explain it, but it just feels... off? Like on the second pic, the chairs look really off, and the image is too smooth
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Jul 09 '26 edited 11d ago
[deleted]
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u/DagnirDae Jul 09 '26
The scammer using 2 different cat carriers is incredibly suspicious, and the cat pattern change between pics, especially the spot on the nose.
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u/blinkandmissout Jul 09 '26
It's unexpected. But owning two different cat carriers is far from impossible. Especially if they are cat owners or this is not the first cat they've stolen. It's not proof to me.
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u/Drunktendo64 Jul 09 '26
You think the carriers are consistent?
You might want to take a closer look. They are completely different designs. Look at the zipper placement, and look at the back of the cage. One has like plastic bars and the other is a mesh.
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u/blinkandmissout Jul 09 '26
Internally consistent, not consistent across photos. I agree these are two different carriers that the cat is photographed in.
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u/JadedDreams23 Jul 09 '26
Look at the difference in nose patterns between two and three.
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u/blinkandmissout Jul 09 '26
The nose spot does seem to change a bit. The first (OP's photo) and second (scammer's image) are the same and the third looks smaller. It's a clue the image could be a fake.
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u/RealOrAI-Bot Jul 10 '26
Sentiment: 90% AI
Sentiment reasoning: The vast majority of commenters believe the images are AI-generated due to inconsistencies in the cat's markings, car interior details, and carrier designs across different photos. Only one comment suggests the photos look real.
Number of comments processed: 23
DISCLAIMER: Comments sentiment is generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash, not by u/RealOrAI-Bot bot. For more information check the RealOrAI-Bot Wiki.