Teaser was built as a civilian wooden-hulled cabin launch of the same name in 1916 by W. F. Dunn at Norfolk, Virginia. In November 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, George Roper & Brother, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Teaser (SP-933) on 29 November 1917. Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Teaser served on patrol duties in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area for the rest of World War I and into December 1918. On 27 December 1918, an engine backfire started a fire aboard Teaser, and she burned and sank in Hampton Roads.