Police departments across the U.S. are urging teens to stop a viral social media prank that uses artificial intelligence to generate fake images of a homeless man inside their home, as it’s now leading to panic calls and unnecessary police responses.
The prank involves kids using AI tools on Snapchat to create realistic images of a disheveled man appearing to be in their living room, kitchen, or hallway. They then message their parents, claiming they let the man inside to rest, use the bathroom, or grab a drink. Some even add that the man claims to know the parents from work or college.
The reactions are caught on video, as the children record their parents’ responses and upload them to TikTok and other social media platforms. Some clips have racked up millions of views, but what starts as a prank often escalates when frightened parents call the police.
Police departments respond to viral prank
Round Rock Police Patrol Division Commander Andy McKinney told NBC that these calls are treated as high-priority home invasion reports, which can “cause a SWAT response.” Departments warn that pranks like this waste resources and could put people in danger.
The Salem, Massachusetts Police Department issued one of the clearest statements yet, saying the prank “dehumanizes the homeless, causes the distressed recipient to panic, and wastes police resources.”
“The prank entails the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator to mock up a photo that makes it appear as though a homeless man is at a resident’s door or inside the home,” they said. “The man is refusing to leave, and the prankster is in fear of the ‘intruder.’ The setting of the home is real – the ‘homeless man’ is not.
The AI-generated image is then sent via text to the unsuspecting homeowner, relative, or friend (with commentary about finding the uninvited man in the home), and their reaction is recorded and posted to social media for ‘entertainment’ and the resulting clicks and likes.”
They added: “In several cases, those who received these AI-generated images and commentary sincerely believed that there was an actual intruder in their home and called 911 to report a burglary which necessitated an immediate police response.”
The statement added that responding officers “do not know this is a prank and treat the call as an actual burglary in progress,” creating potentially dangerous situations for both officers and the families involved.
This isn’t the first time police have spoken out against a viral social media trend, either. The TikTok door-knock challenge has sparked a response from quite a few departments over the years, as well as the viral ‘Huggy Wuggy’ trend that took over the app in 2022.
