Overview

• U.S. departments report teens using AI tools, often on Snapchat, to insert a disheveled man into images of their own homes.
• Participants send the doctored photos to parents with fabricated explanations, then record reactions for TikTok and other platforms.
• Round Rock Police Commander Andy McKinney said such reports are handled as high-priority home invasions that could lead to a SWAT response.
• The Salem, Massachusetts Police Department said the trend dehumanizes people experiencing homelessness and wastes police resources.
• Several recipients believed the images were real and called 911, leading officers to respond as if to burglaries in progress, which raises safety risks for families and police.