What is ‘764' Group? FBI opens 250 probes into online predator network targeting children

Economic Times

06-05-2025

Modus operandi of group '764'
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From victims to perpetrators
A global, evolving threat
What should parents know about 764?
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an investigation into a global online network of violent predators who go by the name '746'. The group targets children through popular platforms like Discord and Roblox . Authorities describe it as one of the most disturbing criminal threats young people are facing today.FBI Assistant Director David Scott said that all 55 field offices of the FBI are handling active 746-related cases, and over 250 probes are underway across the United States. Scott added that victims as young as nine have been identified. Officials fear that the group has lured thousands across the globe.As per an ABC News report, the 764 network lures teens and children through gaming platforms and social media. These predators first pose as friends or romantic partners and later manipulate the victims into sending sexual images, harming pets, or even self-harming. These acts, reportedly, are recorded and shared within the group or used to extort victims for more graphic material.Some members, the report stated, even host 'watch parties' where others watch live abuse. FBI officials have warned that the network thrives on chaos, promoting violence, mass shootings, neo-Nazism, and Satanism to desensitise the youth.One of the striking cases involved a teen from Connecticut who was lured into 764 and eventually conspired to make bomb threats in her community. Investigators, reportedly, found that she was trained to hack gaming accounts and coerced into spreading threats.Authorities warned that the victims often become perpetrators under pressure from abusers. They said that swatting—making false emergency calls to send armed police to a victim's home—is another intimidation tactic that the perpetrators use when victims try to resist.The name of the group, 764, originated from a Texas zip code where its current jailed founder, Bradley Cadenhead, initially started the Discord community as a teenager. 764 has since branched out to international offshoots, repeatedly rebranding to avoid law enforcement and platform bans.Some of the recent arrests are Prasan Nepal, a 20-year-old North Carolina man charged with operating an elite 764 club, and others, such as Jack Rocker, who collected thousands of images of severe abuse.Parents are being encouraged by authorities to be aware of their children's Internet usage and look out for signs like changing personalities, bruises, or hiding their bodies from the sun, the report stated. Parents need to quickly report anything weird to the cops. Discord and Roblox, among other companies, claim that they are increasing safety procedures and cooperating with law enforcement. Experts have stressed, nevertheless, that being engaged at home is quite important.Parents need to have frank discussions regarding internet safety, supervise their kids' gaming and social media activities, observe changes in mood or behaviour, and inform the police about any suspicious activity.Predators from the 764 network tend to use platforms such as Discord and Roblox, but they also switch between other online environments to remain undetected, so being vigilant across platforms is crucial.