GCD AI RADAR
incidents/AIR-2026-0406

Scammers Used AI Image of Missing Puppy to Solicit Fraudulent Payment

AI-enabled attack3 Confirmed exploitationDeepfake fraud

Scammers used an AI-altered image of a missing puppy and impersonated staff to convince a couple to pay for emergency surgery. The fraudulent payment was flagged and stopped.

Details

type
AI-enabled attack
Attackers used AI as a meaningful part of a cyberattack against someone else.
categories
  • Deepfake fraud
    Synthetic voice, video or images used to impersonate people for fraud, extortion or access.
owasp llm top 10
no entry for these categories
mitre atlas
Both rows are derived from the type and categories (OWASP 2025 edition, ATLAS release 2026.09), not classified per record. How
severity
3 · Confirmed exploitation
Used against real targets; limited or unclear impact.
targets
Individuals
products
Zelle
incident date
20 Jan 2026
first reported
20 Jan 2026
origin
AI Incident Database
Derived from the AI Incident Database (CC BY-SA 4.0).
classifier confidence
0.90 · published at or above 0.80; see the methodology
tags
deepfake · fraud · impersonation
record
created 2026-10-18 06:33Z · updated 2026-10-18 06:59Z · json

Sources · 1

  1. 2026-01-20
    Scammers Reportedly Used AI-Generated Image of Missing Puppy Hazel to Solicit Fraudulent Vet Payment from St. Petersburg, Florida Couple
    AI Incident Database · incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1477

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