OTTAWA - "I've done it. I need help to bury a body."

Such disturbing text messages warning of a murder have surfaced on cellphones across eastern Ontario but police say they're a hoax.

Ontario Provincial Police are sounding the alarm about the suspicious cellphone texts after more than a dozen morbid messages led concerned recipients to call police.

The texts first surfaced about a month ago, with varying statements indicating someone was possibly killed.
"It's not a trend we want to see continue. Stuff like this isn't funny," OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae said.

"At this point, we're going to start charging people with mischief."

The hoaxes are tying up police resources as hours are spent tracing the messages to cellphone owners.

Earlier this month, police in Chilton, Wisconsin, warned the public about a similar trend after they responded to several complaints originating from an online Facebook post, "When I'm bored, I send a text to a random number saying, 'I hid the body...now what?'"

In the latest scam, OPP say the men and women they've tracked down who sent the messages aren't linked and have been of all ages.

While officers have simply warned offenders, police said they will start charging pranksters with mischief.