Police issue warning over AI homeless man prank

The trend has become popular recently on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat

Police have issued a warning over a social media prank involving an "AI homeless man" entering people's homes after receiving a call from a concerned parent.

The trend is currently popular on TikTok and Snapchat, where people have sent AI-generated images to parents or friends of a stranger appearing to eat food, sleeping in a bed and refusing to leave their house.

Dorset Police said it received a call from an "extremely concerned parent" last week who believed there was a man in their family home while their daughter was alone - but it turned out to be a prank.

The force added it used "valuable deployable resources" for the call which could have been used for a genuine emergency.

In a post on social media the force said: "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."