Decatur resident says scammer faked finding cat, demanded money

DECAUR, Ga. - A would-be scammer tried to fleece a disabled pet owner desperately searching for their cat.

The pet disappeared about a week ago. Someone told the victim they have the cat, but then they demanded money.

That pet lover showed up at the designated parking lot. They thought they’d be reunited with their cat, but the person who claimed they had the pet demanded $100.

"He’s my entire little world," said Luna Bond, who had been searching for their lost cat Riley. "Riley is the one that cuddles me the most at night. He’s the loving one."

The American short-hair vanished about a week ago from Bond’s home in Decatur.

"I was shocked when he didn’t come for breakfast. Like ‘Where are you?’" they said.

Bond posted on social media hoping to find Riley.

"I got a text message from some random number giving me photographs," they said.

Bond says the person on other end claimed to have the pet.

"They asked me are you missing a cat?" they recalled.

The stranger sent pictures that looked like Riley at first.

"I was extremely excited. I thought that was him. It was absolutely him," they recounted.

The person on the other end agreed to meet at a nearby store.

"Everything seems to be going extremely smoothly. And then out of nowhere, he asks me, ‘So, are you going to compensate me for this?’" they said. "He demanded $100 from me."

Bond lives with a disability and uses a wheelchair to get around. They also live on a fixed income.

"I cannot give him $100, I have to pay for my medications. I have to pay for my insurance. I have to pay for my ‘this and that,’" Bond said.

Bond inspected the pictures more carefully.

It wasn’t Riley.

"I was being very much duped," Bond admitted.

Reporter: "Did he every show up?"

Bond: "No."

Reporter: "Did you ever get your cat?" 

Bond: "No."

Bond: "I genuinely don’t think that guy was going to show up if I did give him $100." 

Reporter: "So, you would’ve been out of that money?" 

Bond: "Not only would I have been out of a cat, I would’ve been out of the money."

Bond filed a police report and never gave that person the money they demanded.

Bond doesn’t want this to happen to any other pet lover and still holds out hope Riley will return.