A heartbreaking situation for Bay Area pet owners is being exploited by scammers who target distraught families searching for their missing animals. Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are WATCH HERE WATCH HEREIt all started on July 1 when the Nottingham family’s 8-year-old cat, Tylette, went missing. Madison Nottingham and her mother, Bobbie Nottingham, put up more than 300 fliers in their neighborhood and posted an online plea for help finding their cat. Bobbie Nottingham said the man told her the operation would cost more than $2,700. “Pretty shocked that someone would prey on our grief and on our fears,” Bobbie Nottingham said.