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:

The male caller, who claimed to be management with the hotel, told the man a previous guest had placed highly sophisticated cameras in the room, but not to bother looking for them. The caller told the man to unplug the TV, which the man did. He then said to remove the back toilet cover and smash the TV, which the guest also did. When the TV didn't break, the caller told the man to throw the TV outside, and the man complied, the report states. The caller then reportedly told the man to smash the room's mirrors, after which the guest grabbed a wrench and began breaking the mirrors. According to the report, the caller then gave the guest an "elaborate story" in which a 4-foot, 3-inch person was barricaded in the adjacent room, and the police needed the guest's help to free the smaller man. The guest began breaking through the sheetrock with his wrench, stopping short after realizing that if he created a hole, someone on the other side would see him, the report states.

No charges were filed but the guest was asked to leave. The night clerk told deputies that Motel 6 franchises had been alerted to similar pranks elsewhere.

A Pranknet figure told The Smoking Gun its members called guests at a variety of Motel 6 guests Sunday night to attempt hoaxes. Why Motel 6? Pranknet members can call directly to rooms without having to know a guest's name, TSG writes.

TSG describes Pranknet (a.k.a. Prank U and Prank University) as a "group of miscreants" that "specializes in social engineering and manipulation geared toward damaging businesses and embarrassing victims."

(Posted by Michael Winter)