Scammers used AI images to try and swindle $2,800 from desperate family searching for missing dog

This is one of the AI-generated images the Cosens family received from scammers, who demanded nearly $2,800 while falsely claiming their dog, Archer, had been hit by a car and needed emergency surgery - (AI/The Cosens Family)

A Florida family says scammers tried to swindle them out of nearly $2,800 by using AI-generated images to make it appear their missing dog was injured and in need of emergency surgery.

The ordeal began Saturday night in Deltona, when Bill Cosens said the family’s Beagle mix, Archer, escaped from the backyard, he told Fox 35 Orlando. The family posted a photo of their beloved pet on Facebook, asking for the community’s help in bringing him home.