(TNND) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is raising alarms about an online network of violent predators known as “764,” which targets teenagers through popular online platforms.
The group befriends teens and coerces them into escalating sexual and violent behavior, including creating pornography, harming family pets, self-harm, or even suicide.
According to ABC News, the FBI is currently handling more than 250 investigations related to the 764 network across the country.
FBI Assistant Director David Scott, head of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said, “We see a lot of bad things, but this is one of the most disturbing things we’re seeing.” Scott noted that victims have been as young as nine years old, and there could be thousands of victims worldwide.
Last week, the Department of Justice arrested two alleged leaders of the sextortion group, charging them with directing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
The FBI is now treating 764 and its offshoots as a potential form of domestic terrorism, referring to the offenders as nihilistic violent extremists.
