Description: Irish police (Garda Síochána) reportedly issued a public warning after a viral "home invasion" prank spread on social media. The prank allegedly uses AI image-generation filters to insert a fake intruder into photos of family homes and send them to relatives, often elderly, claiming someone has broken in. The hoax reportedly caused panic and distress, and multiple false 999 calls diverted Garda resources, prompting an official appeal to stop the trend.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown AI image generator developer developed an AI system deployed by Unknown pranksters in Ireland, which harmed General public of Ireland , Elderly individuals and Garda Síochána.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Unknown AI image generator , Social media , Snapchat , Instagram , Facebook , WhatsApp and Meta Platforms
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1225
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2025-10-03
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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A bizarre prank - that has spread like wildfire on social media in Ireland - has led to a series of false 999 calls from people who have been tricked into thinking a friend or family member's home has been invaded.
The cruel trick, using AI…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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