{"id":1535310,"date":"2025-05-10T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1535310"},"modified":"2025-05-10T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T22:00:00","slug":"fbi-has-launched-250-probes-tied-to-online-networks-that-prey-on-minors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/fbi-has-launched-250-probes-tied-to-online-networks-that-prey-on-minors\/1535310\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI Has Launched 250 Probes Tied To Online Networks That Prey On Minors"},"content":{"rendered":"

FBI Has Launched 250 Probes Tied To Online Networks That Prey On Minors<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

The FBI has been investigating at least 250 subjects allegedly tied to violent online networks that prey on minors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The networks, under investigation by all of the FBI\u2019s 55 field offices, are known as \u201c764\u201d but have other names.<\/p>\n

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington on Nov. 6, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe FBI is growing increasingly concerned about a loose network of violent predators <\/strong>who befriend minors and other vulnerable individuals through popular online platforms and then coerce them into escalating sexual and violent behavior,\u201c the FBI said in a May 8 statement to The Epoch Times, noting this includes \u201dpushing victims to create graphic content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or attempt suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these predators even watch live-streamed self-harm and other violent content.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

The FBI had issued a public service announcement<\/a> on March 6, warning about \u201ca sharp increase\u201d in the activity of \u201c764\u201d and other such online networks.<\/p>\n

In targeting minors, the bureau said, these networks \u201cuse 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe footage is then circulated among members of the network to continue to extort victims and exert control over them<\/strong>,\u201d it said in the March announcement.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese 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,\u201d the bureau said.<\/p>\n

Predators, they said, usually \u201cgroom 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.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This coercion consists of blackmail, such as predators threatening to share online explicit photos and videos of victims and their family and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u2019s entertainment or the threat actor\u2019s own sense of fame,\u201d the FBI said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you harm our children, you will be given no sanctuary,<\/strong>\u201d Patel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSat, 05\/10\/2025 – 14:00<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/fbi-has-launched-250-probes-tied-online-networks-prey-minors<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FBI Has Launched 250 Probes Tied To Online Networks That Prey On Minors Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The FBI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1535311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1535310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1535310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1535311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1535310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1535310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1535310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}