And the Jackass-style antics have been watched by hundreds more on the internet.
The Lancashire Evening Post can reveal the identities of the mystery trio who have raised a few eyebrows with their semi-naked stunt.
Paul Hopkins, 23, and his friend Chris Dixon, 21, have stopped strangers at a list of places including Beacon Fell and Longridge Golf Club, both near Preston.
The pair pose as students doing a university project and ask people if they have heard about the recent yeti sightings in the area to get their attention.
Once a crowd has gathered and everyone is looking into the distance, their pal, Craig ‘Yeti’ Platt, appears from behind a tree or another suitable hiding place.
Chris’s brother Liam, 18, who lives in Grimsargh, near Preston, with his sibling, films the capers and the clips have attracted more than 1,200 hits on the video website YouTube in just a few days. Water main repair worker Craig, 21, who lives in Plungington, Preston, has braved the freezing winter weather to perform the trick, and said he was a bit reluctant at first but was persuaded by his friends.
He said: “People are a bit shocked at first but they love it.
“It’s been a bit cold, but I’m just immune to it now.”
They have also played the trick on people outside Preston North End’s Deepdale stadium before an evening fixture, on Moor Park and at Fishwick Hall Golf Club.
Paul, who lives in Garstang Road, Fulwood, said: “We’ve been doing it for about a year. we do it every now and then when we’re bored.
“It’s just to make us laugh and some of our other mates laugh, but a few people have been talking about it so we decided to film it and see if there was any interest in it.
“My mate’s a bit crazy and one day we said to him wouldn’t it be funny to do something off Jackass.
“We do it all over the place. we didn’t film it at first because we thought we might get into trouble.”
And Paul, who works in internet advertising, warned people to look out for more pranks in the near future and said: “We’re going to be doing more stuff like this.
“We have a few plans, a few public plans.”