Warning as 'trending prank' is leading people to report burglaries that aren’t happening
An Garda Síochána said it was aware of the “trending prank” in which someone is sent an AI-generated image of a home intruder.
Gardaí have issued a warning of a new AI hoax that is leading people to ring them up to report burglaries that aren’t happening.
In a posting to social media, An Garda Síochána said it was aware of the “trending prank” in which someone is sent an AI-generated image of a home intruder.
“Already on a number of occasions this has resulted in the emergency deployment of gardaí to an ultimately hoax report of burglary,” it said.
Gardaí said this is a waste of valuable resources and diverts them from genuine emergency calls they need to respond to.
It also pointed to the risk that legitimate emergency calls might not receive the urgent attention they deserve, which “poses serious safety concerns for those who need our immediate assistance”.
“We urge everyone not to engage in this prank and to consider the consequences that may result from such activity,” it added.
While this specific warning references a prank trending on social media, it comes as gardaí continue to warn of the rising threat of people being duped by frauds and scammers.
On Friday, it noted a “concerning” 21% increase in investment fraud, in particular, in the last three months alone, with “large sums of money stolen”.
To date this year, over €8.5m has been stolen through such scams.
“The majority of victims between 2020 and 2024 were middle-aged to elderly individuals, highlighting the need for increased awareness and vigilance among vulnerable demographics,” gardaí added.
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