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By Dan Proudman and Jake McCallum
 The TikTok craze terrifying sleeping Newcastle residents
'CREEPING'
The first reaction from one of the thieves is to grab his phone and make sure it is recording…
Four burglars enter the Geary family home at Dudley just past midnight.
Such is the cold nature of the TikTok gangs who are terrorising neighbourhoods across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. 
Their focus is on filming and  posting their criminal videos online rather than the danger of committing the growing number of serious offences.
The gangs' online boasts centre on hashtags around “creeping” while people are sleeping. The trend is now being copied by groups in other areas of  NSW and Queensland as they vie to outdo each other.
DISTURBING TREND
Their actions, now in the sights of a significant police strike force investigating dozens of burglaries, vehicle theft and carjackings, are having a profound effect on their victims.
POLICE ON THE HUNT
Sue Geary, her husband Glenn Geary and their family were asleep when the intruders were caught on camera silently entering their Dudley home just before 3am a fortnight ago.
Mrs Geary has taken days off work to deal with the trauma of having people ransack her house.
At least seven other households experienced the same nightmare in the area that night, the thieves stealing valuables then leaving in their victim’s cars.
“I could hear them whispering and they were still only getting out of the house when I confronted them.’’
SUE GEARY
The craze has attracted the wrath of Deputy Premier and Police Minister, Paul Toole, who hit out at criminals taking on the trend.
Anyone considering jumping on this trend should ask themselves: Are a few moments of fame on the internet worth dying for? Or at best, spending years in prison?
PAUL O'TOOLEDeputy Premier 
“
Intelligence suggests the  majority of the crimes are being performed by a core group of young teenagers, some from as far afield as the New England and North West, who are loosely connected through families, community groups and social media.
WHO ARE THEY?
The maximum penalty for a break and enter is 14 years imprisonment, which increases to 20 years in circumstances of aggravation and 25 years in circumstances of special aggravation.
Producer: Bianca Mastroianni

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/web-stories/free/the-newcastle-news/tiktok-creeping-craze-is-terrifying-newcastle-residents