The phrog does not have the same motives as a typical thief, who would pilfer your valuables for quick cash. Instead, they seek to take up covert residence in your abode for a few days, relishing in a rent-free, high-risk lifestyle before jumping to the next unsuspecting victim.
Life Hacker reports that the clandestine nature of phrogging makes it impossible to know how common it is, but something like phrogging does happen occasionally. Consider this Knoxville man who found a half-naked dude living in his crawlspace, cooking meth, or Brayden Woodhouse, who was found guilty recently in Cedar Rapids of breaking into numerous homes to use residents’ computers to watch porn. But the media only reports on the phrogs who got caught. The phrogs who are good at it, the ones that leave nothing behind but a dark silhouette on a Ring camera and a disquieted feeling, never get arrested. There could be thousands of them. Or none at all.
Whether phrogging is real depends on what you mean by “phrog.” Phrogs aren’t squatters. You squat in an unused house. Phrogs are not common thieves—those are all too real. The home intruders who have been caught but don’t fit those two categories are only marginally phroggy. They tend to be lone wolves. They often seem to have mental health problems, a special vendetta against the house’s residents, or are obsessed fans.
The true phrog has chosen house-hiding as a lifestyle. Supposedly, there is an underground community of phroggers out there who don’t draw enough attention to themselves to be the subject of news stories. They are said to congregate on dark web message boards where they share tips for successfully avoiding detection in strangers’ homes, and even post videos of homeowners sleeping for bragging rights.
This is not only a disturbing trend, but it could also pose as a danger to not only the homeowners, but the "phrogger" themselves.
What if the homeowner owns a rifle and what if they have a young child and what if the phrogger is mentally disturbed enough to cause harm to someone in the home.
IThere's so many opportunities for this situation to go tragically awry.
