Elderly man falls for prank, trashes SC motel room

[pstokely]

Source: USA Today

It's a bizarre story but here goes: An elderly man fell victim to pranksters by trashing his South Carolina motel room after being told that it contained hidden cameras and that a little man was trapped in an adjacent room, according to police and news reports.

The hoax was apparently the work of a notorious Canada-based Internet group that dupes people into damaging corporate properties and embarrassing themselves, says The Smoking Gun. Just last month the group, Pranknet, which broadcasts its capers live on the Net and posts them on YouTube, targeted an ESPN reporter for a hoax during her stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gainesville, Fla.

Sunday night's hoax occurred at a Motel 6 in Spartanburg and involved an unidentified 73-year-old guest, who told police he was asleep when he received a call about 11 p.m. The local Herald-Journal picks up the story:

Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/11/elderly-man-falls-for-prank-trashes-sc-motel-room/1

[greiner3]

1. So all these right wing loonies;

That go on shooting sprees could use the defense they were contacted by Pranknet. Further, Pranknet told them that they were actually Glenn Beck and he wanted them to go and perform second Amendment processes against certain entities.

The possibilities are endless.

[Ter]

21. Not everything is about right and left

Some things in life are a-political.

[Quantess]

22. True. However, post #1 is probably a joke.

Tongue-in-cheek.

[TheEuclideanOne]

2. I love practical jokes - Never heard of Pranknet before

Listening to their KFC Prank now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENCy0ypwDdo Funny stuff so far. In reading about them on Wikipedia, it pretty much describes them all as a bunch of guys living with their parents, but they sound like they have done somethings that have gotten them investigated by the FBI. :)

[kag]

6. Not me. I hate them.

Especially ones like this that pick on the most vulnerable people.

[woo me with science]

9. Then there's always this one:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/11/sarah_palin_pranked_by_sarkozy.html

[vduhr]

17. The difference is....

The prank pulled on Palin exposed (I should say 'further' exposed) the stupidity of someone that was in line for VP (and possibly President) of the United States - it was actually scary.

[TheEuclideanOne]

12. Okay, so I am apparently the only person that finds these pranks

to be hilarious!

[vduhr]

14. If you think that..

preying on an elderly man and getting him thrown out of his room in the middle of the night, so you can use him to do your dirty work is funny, then yes, you are very alone. I truly hope you are very, very alone.

[TheEuclideanOne]

16. Gulp....

Yes I do think that is funny.

[uppityperson]

18. Shame on you since you think it's funny to prey on people.

[Systematic Chaos]

23. It's natural to laugh at other people getting embarassed in a lot of situations.

I don't think it's very cool, though, to laugh when people are goaded into committing major property damage, or drinking of somebody's urine, and most of the other shit these people have pulled.

They deserve some incredibly humiliating punishment. As much so as you can get without crossing the line into "cruel and unusual."

[theHandpuppet]

25. Hopefully, yes.

:eyes:

[TheEuclideanOne]

26. Oh well, I can accept that

I guess it is probably best if there are only a few people in the world with the enjoyment of this type of humor. I can live with that. :) I must say, though, that I am still amazed that I am the ONLY ONE who gets a kick out of these bits. It is not just here, too. I was playing one out loud for my girlfriend, and she did not see the humor either. She actually got pretty upset over it.

Earlier, somebody else commented on how they prey on only the most vulnerable people in our society and I disagree. It seems like alot of people fall for them and they are not all from te special olympics. They are just stupid, and I mean really stupid, and I find it pretty funny to laugh at them.

[theHandpuppet]

24. Ditto that!

It's just another form of bullying for people who get off demeaning and humiliating others.

[TroglodyteScholar]

7. They're creeps, predators and child molesters.

Look them up in a bit deeper detail if you feel like really being disgusted.

[Little Star]

3. Not Funny!

[Earth_First]

4. So do they flip the bill for the damages?

:shrug:

[carolinayellowdog]

5. TSG did a great job exposing these creeps

interesting karmic consequences will ensue

[lame54]

8. wouldn't it be easier...

to call the front desk and ask for different room?

[Politicalboi]

10. Maybe they called

Randy Quaid.

[NBachers]

11. "I'm not brave enough to trash a room myself, so I'll victimize the trust of a deluded old man"

Little punk-ass shits

[JVS]

13. You're not allowed to trash hotel rooms. This guy should have known better.

[vduhr]

15. There are some people who will do even worse things when they think....

someone of authority is condoning it. Ever hear of the Milgram experiments? I would say this man may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, since the "prangsters" had to call several Motel 6's to finally get someone to comply. Seems, thank goodness, there were at least a few smart people that didn't fall for their con. You shouldn't be blaming this old man for this. These prangster creeps should be in jail and made to pay, plus some, for what they think is funny.

[christx30]

20. There was one a coule of years ago

where a McDonalds manager strip searched an employee because of a prank phone call.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_search_prank_call_scam

it's sick what people will do just because they are told someone in authority wants them to.

[uppityperson]

19. Practical jokes are fine but this goes way beyond that. Rather like stealing money by fraud

"but they should have known better" is no excuse.