Salem police are warning pranksters against a “stupid and potentially dangerous” social media trend that uses AI-generated images of a disheveled stranger to trick people into believing there’s an intruder in their home.

The so-called “AI Homeless Man Prank” has spawned thousands of videos wherein an unsuspecting target — typically a parent, spouse, or friend — is led to believe that a stranger made themselves at home by snagging a snack from the fridge, laying down for a nap, or even borrowing a toothbrush .

“The man is refusing to leave, and the prankster is in fear of the ‘intruder,’” the Salem Police Department explained in an advisory last week. “The setting of the home is real — the ‘homeless man’ is not.”

In several cases, according to Salem police, “those who received the

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