TRENTON, NJ — The FBI issued a stark warning this week about a disturbing rise in violent online networks, including one known as “764,” which are actively targeting children and vulnerable individuals in the United States and globally. These groups coerce victims — some as young as 9 years old — into producing explicit and violent content, often escalating to suicide livestreams.
The groups are targeting American teens, including those in New Jersey and New York .
Key Points
- FBI warns of growing online networks like “764” targeting minors with coercion and blackmail.
- Threat actors groom victims on common social media and gaming platforms.
- Victims are forced to create violent, sexual, or self-harm content under threat of exposure or physical danger.
According to federal authorities, the networks operate across widely used digital platforms including social media, messaging apps, and gaming forums. Perpetrators often pose as peers or love interests, gradually manipulating victims through grooming tactics until they are coerced into sharing self-harm or sexually explicit material.
“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 FBI stated.
The actors, motivated by various personal drivers — including a desire for control, notoriety, or sexual gratification — typically record or distribute this material among network members…