An investigation involving national and international police agencies is underway after the RNC were able to link an incident in downtown St. John’s last week to a child targeted by the dangerous online group known as The 764.
Constable Stephanie Myers says a false report was made to the RNC last week, alleging a firearms incident at two downtown businesses.
Significant resources were sent down to investigate, and while Myers can’t say how, they were able to link the situation to the 764 group.
Myers says the group targets children mainly through online gaming platforms such as Roblox and Minecraft.
They befriend the child, then get the conversation to move to another app, like Discord, where they get more information and eventually coax them into dangerous behaviours such as sending nude pictures, harming family pets, harming themselves, and even suicide.
Myers says the phony calls to police are made to gain control over the victim.
She says the group does this to show the victim that they are “the real deal,” and will follow through on their threats.
Myers believes the group initially contacted the child in this province through Roblox.
She says there were “warning signs,” noting that the child was receiving “lavish gifts” and account top-ups from unknown sources. She urges parents to speak with their children, and if they notice any warning signs to report them.
Those warning signs include:
- New online “friends” or networks that they seem infatuated with and/or scared of.
- Receiving anonymous gifts, items delivered to your home, currency, gaming currency, or other virtual items.
- An interest in gore, disasters, self-harm, suicide, or true crime content.
- Writing in blood or what appears to be blood.
- Spending more time on the internet, unsupervised, or alone in their room.
- Spending more money online or asking for money more often.
Myers calls it a complex investigation that will take some time, and that there are no suspects as of yet.
