FBI Louisville warns of rise in ‘violent’ networks targeting minors online

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — The FBI in Louisville announced an observed uptick of violent online network activity that targets minors and other vulnerable individuals.

According to a release, these networks work on popular social media platforms, gaming websites, and mobile applications that young people often use.

The FBI claimed that network members will blackmail, threaten, and otherwise manipulate minors into sharing explicit content, self-harm content, animal cruelty, and other harmful acts.

Some have even been coerced into live-streaming their own deaths by suicide, according to the FBI.

The FBI said that targets are primarily 10–17, but some have been seen as young as nine. Popular targets include vulnerable children, such as those who struggle with mental health issues, including:

• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Conceptualizing death by suicide

To ensure the targets cooperate, some online (term) will threaten “swatting” or “doxing” calls, along with other extreme fear tactics.

Kentucky State Police have revealed a “dangerous connection” between numerous missing minor reports in Kentucky and online predators.

“Almost all of these cases have a common factor: online predators. These children were contacted through social media and messaging apps, sent money, and manipulated into dangerous situations,” Trooper Justin Kearney said.

He encouraged parents to be mindful of what their children are doing online and to take time to communicate the importance of online safety.

“Kids can be vulnerable to online luring and sextortion, making it essential to have open, honest discussions about internet safety,” Kearney wrote in a Facebook post.

The FBI recommends that family members, friends, and other associates be mindful of these possible indicators and warning signs:

• Sudden behavior changes such as becoming withdrawn, moody, or irritable.
• Sudden changes in appearance, especially neglect of appearance.
• Changes in eating or sleeping habits
• Dropping out of activities and becoming more isolated and withdrawn.
• A new online “friend” or network prospective victims seem infatuated with and/or scared of.
• Writing in blood or what appears to be blood.
• Fresh cuts, scratches, bruises, bite marks, burns, or other wounds.
• Carvings, such as words or symbols, on the skin.
• Wearing long sleeves or pants in hot weather.

For a full list of FBI recommendations as well as more information on the possible impacts of VONs, click here.

If you believe you or someone you know is a victim of such tactics, retain all related information (e.g., usernames, emails, websites) and report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Timely reporting can help law enforcement identify malicious actors and prevent further victimization.