There’s a new prank circulating on social media, and security experts urge pranksters not to participate.
“It goes to the level of causing panic, fear and danger and potential injury and serious injury to innocent people,” said Tim Dimoff, National Law Enforcement Procedures and Security expert. “That’s a pretty high code red type of call for the police to respond. They’re worried someone [could] get hurt.”
That viral TikTok trend is called the AI Homeless Man prank, where people create fake but realistic images of a homeless person inside someone’s home.
News 5 tested it out and created these images of a homeless person in different rooms and positions throughout our station.
While some may be impressed, authorities said it’s far from cool because it's scaring people and tying up police resources.
“It ties up police resources and causes the police to be pulled away from people that actually need our services,” said Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy.
Dimoff also said there's the possibility you could be charged.
“These pranks are very punishable. They’re criminal action, causing panic, making a false police report,” said Dimoff.
Murphy advises leaving this prank alone and recommends that those on the receiving end exercise extra caution by checking with the person to see if they’re playing around. If necessary, they encourage calling the police.
“Take time to go back and forth with the person to see if it is a joke or if they're playing around and if they feel as though there is a real issue, and they need to call the police, and I would still encourage them to call because ultimately that's our job,” said Murphy.
