Lawmakers are raising awareness about a new scam that is targeting pet owners.

They say scammers are using artificial intelligence to edit photos of missing pets that are posted online to make them look seriously hurt.

Pet owners have reported being called by someone who is posing as a veterinary or a law enforcement office, demanding money for the animal's return and medical treatment.

"These AI scams, believe it or not, are becoming more rampant because the photos posted on the internet by people who have pets missing are becoming more frequent. They're expensive and unfortunately they don't provide the pet back because often the scammers have no idea where that pet is," says Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Blumenthal is asking the Federal Trade Commission to send out a consumer alert so more people can be informed about the scam and how to protect themselves and their pets.