AI ‘joke’ could land Aussies in court, cops issue appeal
Aussies have been warned of a chilling-looking ‘intruder’ appearing at their doors or even in their homes, leading to a major warning.
Aussies jumping on a viral AI “intruder” prank have been warned they might be committing a criminal offence after the trend raised the ire of police overseas.
Young people have been fooling family and friends by texting them AI-generated images of strangers or homeless people in their houses, before sharing the jokes on social media.
The trend is characterised by images of shabby looking men standing at a front door or inside a home, accompanied by texts saying they had either been invited or broken in.
Some of these pranks have seen police called out to homes only for officers to find it was all fake.
Sydney criminal lawyer Ahmad Faraj said the trend had the potential to breach criminal laws including using a carriage service to menace, creating a false report and hoax offences.
The principal at Faraj Defence Lawyers warned if an image caused fear or prompted a police response “it can be treated as a criminal act, not a prank”.
“Even if the image is not real, the fear it causes can be,” he said.
“The moment a person feels unsafe, that message can be treated as a menacing or harassing communication under federal law.”
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In a brief statement NSW Police said the trend “has not been brought to our attention and we are not aware of any reported incidents”.
Police departments in both the UK and US, however, have issued public appeals this month asking people be aware of how the trend was impacting police resources.
Dorset Police, located in England’s south, said in early October it received a call from an “extremely concerned parent” who had been fooled by the prank.
They said the call and investigation engaged “valuable deployable resources”, which could have been used for a genuine emergency.
“If you receive a message and pictures similar to the above antics from friends or family, please attempt to check it isn’t a prank before dialling 999,” the force said.
In America, police in Michigan, New York and Wisconsin have issued public warnings about the “homeless” AI prank.
Yonkers Police Department shared an AI image of a homeless man standing in their headquarters on Facebook, accompanied with a post saying: “PSA: The ‘AI Homeless Man’ Prank Isn’t Funny — It’s Dangerous”.
“These pranks have led to people calling 911 after ‘seeing’ a man in their home… only for officers to find out it was a fake picture.
“Here’s the problem: officers are responding FAST using lights-and-sirens to what sounds like a call of a real intruder — and only getting called off once everyone realizes it was a joke. “That’s not just a waste of resources… it’s a real safety risk for officers who are responding and for the family members who are home if our officers get there before the prank is revealed and rush into the home to apprehend this ‘intruder’ that doesn’t exist.”
Salem Police Department Captain John Burke told Good Morning America the trend was “eliciting a lot of fear”. He pointed to one incident where a person called 911 believing their relative had picked up a hitchhiker who was now threatening them.
“You’re causing your friends or your family to panic,” he said. “You’re tying up a police, public safety answering point, a 911 dispatch centre. You’re wasting the police resources.
“There is the chance when you know we’re responding to these incidents, we don’t know at first if it’s real, we have to handle every situation like it’s a potential real situation.”
Mr Faraj said people needed to be aware of how easily an online joke can cross legal boundaries.
“We’re seeing young people use AI tools for entertainment without understanding the legal risk,” he said.
“If your content causes fear or wastes police time, that’s a criminal act, not a prank.
“What matters isn’t your idea, it’s the impact. The law measures outcomes, not intentions”
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Originally published as AI ‘joke’ could land Aussies in court, cops issue appeal
