TikTok’s new craze: ‘Devious lick’ challenge leads to school thefts

EL PASO, Texas -- A viral TikTok challenge has led to damaged property and stolen items from schools across the nation, including some in Texas who have not been immune to the destructive trend, according to ABC affiliate KTRK.

It's called the "devious lick" challenge, which involves stealing school property and destroying or vandalizing school bathrooms, all for likes and follows.

A "lick" is another word for stealing. Or as explained by Urban Dictionary, "a successful type of theft, which results in an acceptable, impressive and rewarding payday for the protagonist."

It has gotten so bad, TikTok removed the hashtag "devious lick" from the app. Now when you try to search for the phrase, a message appears explaining that the content has been removed because it violates the app's guidelines. The message is accompanied with a link to TikTok's community guidelines.

"We expect our community to create responsibly - online and IRL. We're removing content and redirecting hashtags & search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior. Please be kind to your schools & teachers," TikTok said on Twitter.