A popular new trend, pranking friends or family members with AI-generated photos, has received multiple unnecessary 911 calls and pressing police warnings. What could social media users possibly be creating to scare their loved ones – photos of them welcoming a homeless man into their residence.
Social media users manipulate AI images to create a homeless man appearing at their door or inside their home and then send the photos to a recipient. The funny prank quickly turns serious when terrified loved ones fear for their child, friend, relative, or partner’s life, leading to panicked emergency calls. These reactions are then recorded and posted online for entertainment and likes.
In one video with over 12.7 million views, a son sent his father a photo of a homeless man sitting on their couch, eating from the fridge, and using his father’s toothbrush.
“Hey, Dad, there’s this guy at the front door,” the content creator wrote in a text to his father, “He says he knows you?”
The father responded immediately, saying, “No, I don’t know him. What does he want?”
“He said you guys went to school together, I invited him in.”
Worried and concerned, the father desperately texted, “JOE PICK UP THE PHONE! I DON’T KNOW HIM!!!!”
“He asked to brush his teeth, is it cool if he uses your toothbrush?”
“NO! JOE PICK UP THE PHONE! DO NOT USE MY TOOTHBRUSH!” The father’s reaction included 21 frantic phone calls to his son and wife, but no one answered, leaving him distraught in fear.
This trend shows just how realistic AI is becoming, indicating that many people can no longer differentiate AI from reality. People should advise against using AI to deceive people, as pranks like this are a waste of important emergency resources.
The Salem Police Department in Massachusetts issued an alert earlier this month after receiving multiple 911 calls linked to the prank.
“There are many reasons why this prank is, to put it bluntly, stupid and potentially dangerous. This prank dehumanizes the homeless, causes the distressed recipient to panic, and wastes police resources. Police officers who are called upon to respond do not know this is a prank and treat the call as an actual burglary,” as stated by the Salem Police Department in a public safety announcement on October 6, 2025.
Massachusetts is not the only state dealing with homeless men appearing on people’s doorsteps or entering their homes – Michigan, Ohio, New York, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Texas Police have announced similar warnings to the prank.
Filing a false police report can lead to charges ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony. Penalties are determined by state law; in Massachusetts law fines are between $100 and $500, whereas Arizona law can impose fines up to $2,500. It is best to avoid participating in the “AI Homeless Man Prank” as it only imposes danger, legal charges, and costly fines.
