All About "AI Homeless Man Prank" As US, UK Police Issue Warnings

Police in the United States and the United Kingdom have issued warnings over a social media prank that has recently gone viral, according to the BBC. For the prank, called "AI homeless man prank", users are creating AI-generated images of an untidy homeless man appearing in familiar settings like a home or workplace.

They are sending these images to friends or family to get shocked reactions. The fake photos often confuse the recipients as they react with panic or anger before realising it's a prank.

Tools like Google's Gemini (sometimes referred to as Nano Banana) or MyEdit's AI Replace feature are used to create realistic images.

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Homeless prank on Nan. She lost it when she said he wasn't English! 😆 pic.twitter.com/MBREHhrKhe

— Queen Natalie (@TheNorfolkLion) October 1, 2025

Alarming case in Dorset

In Dorest, England, a teenager decided to prank her parent. She created the AI-generated images of a homeless man and sent one, mentioning that the man refused to leave their home.

Dorset Police confirmed that it received a call from an "extremely concerned parent" last week. They apparently believed that there was a man in their family home while their daughter was alone.

The police noted that after the call, they used "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," as per the report, the force said in a post on social media.

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Another case in the US

A similar incident happened in the US, as Fox 13 Seattle reported that a social media post showed a homeless man roaming around Oak Harbor High School in Washington.

In a public press release, the Oak Harbor Police Department noted that this was a false report and the image was fake.

Why is this harmful?

Some users on social media platforms have argued that trends such as this can cause potential harm, dehumanise homeless people and misuse of AI for misleading content.