(The Epoch Times)—The FBI has been investigating at least 250 subjects allegedly tied to violent online networks that prey on minors.
The networks, under investigation by all of the FBI’s 55 field offices, are known as “764” but have other names.
“The FBI is growing increasingly concerned about a loose network of violent predators who befriend minors and other vulnerable individuals through popular online platforms and then coerce them into escalating sexual and violent behavior,“ the FBI said in a May 8 statement to The Epoch Times, noting this includes ”pushing victims to create graphic content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or attempt suicide.”
“Some of these predators even watch live-streamed self-harm and other violent content.”
The FBI had issued a public service announcement on March 6, warning about “a sharp increase” in the activity of “764” and other such online networks.
In targeting minors, the bureau said, these networks “use threats, blackmail, and manipulation to coerce or extort victims into producing, sharing, or live-streaming acts of self-harm, animal cruelty, sexually explicit acts, and/or suicide.”
“The footage is then circulated among members of the network to continue to extort victims and exert control over them,” it said in the March announcement.
The platforms exist on social media, gaming platforms, and mobile applications, with the victims usually being between the ages of 10 and 17, though some aged 9 have also been targeted, according to the FBI.
“These violent actors target vulnerable populations to include children, as well as those who struggle with a variety of mental health issues, such as depression, eating disorders, or suicidal ideation,” the bureau said.
Predators, they said, usually “groom their victims by first establishing a trusting or romantic relationship before eventually manipulating and coercing them into engaging in escalating harmful behavior designed to shame and isolate them.”
This coercion consists of blackmail, such as predators threatening to share online explicit photos and videos of victims and their family and friends.
“The networks control their victims through extreme fear, and many members have an end-goal of forcing the victims they extort or coerce to live-stream their own suicide for the network’s entertainment or the threat actor’s own sense of fame,” the FBI said.
Warning signs of victims include mood swings, changes in eating and sleeping habits, scars, receipt of anonymous gifts such as currency, and wearing sleeves or long pants in hot weather.
On May 7, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests of 205 child-sex predators as part of a five-day sweep, during which 115 children were rescued.
“If you harm our children, you will be given no sanctuary,” Patel said.
“There is no place we will not come to hunt you down. There is no place we will not look for you, and there is no cage we will not put you in, should you do harm to our children.”
