The FBI just announced the arrests of two leaders from 764, but the danger is still very real.
I-Team reporter Dan Noyes has been working with the investigative team at ABC News on this and has the story.
Noyes has been an investigative reporter for decades and this is about the most disturbing story he's seen. Parents have to know that the game your child is playing, perhaps right now, could lead down a very dangerous and violent path. We want to caution you: some of these words and pictures are disturbing, but this is very important information.
A warning, this story could be disturbing for some viewers
A mother and daughter don't want you to see their faces, to know their names or where they live. They are just breaking free from the terror that is 764.
The mother told ABC7, "They wanted her to take her life, and she was terrified."
The mother also asked that we replace her voice with a computer-generated one, but the words are all hers.
She explains how predators are scanning online games like Minecraft and Roblox for young girls. They also prowl X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook groups about self-harm and eating disorders, for girls who may be especially vulnerable.
Her daughter was suffering anxiety and depression at the age of 15 when a 764 member contacted her, and several others joined in.
"Some of them got her to cut their usernames into her," the mother explained. "And, basically, what they are requesting from the victims just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and worse."
RELATED: FBI has opened 250 investigations tied to violent online network '764,' official says
The mother confirms what investigators tell us -- once 764 members have any sensitive information or photo of a girl, they threaten to expose her -- to her family or school -- if she won't do what they want.
For added pressure, 764 members sometimes call in phony reports of crisis at the victim's home. So, police arrive guns drawn - a process called "swatting."
It happened to that mother and daughter.
"And the swatting happened because she wouldn't kill one of our cats. So that was the same person who had been trying to get her to take her life."
And to live stream it.
She also says they sent her daughter, just 15-years-old at the time, a suicide manual. It's the same one mentioned in the latest federal complaint filed last month against alleged 764 leaders Prasan Nepal, a 20-year-old resident of North Carolina who went by the username "Trippy," and Leonidas Varagiannis, a U.S. citizen arrested in Greece. He went by "War" and is now fighting extradition.
"There's different motivations that can that really drive some of these actions," Virmani explained. "They could be, you know, what we call an accelerationist ideology, which is essentially, you know, looking for the downfall of society."
The special agent in charge of San Francisco's FBI Office confirms the agency has more than 250 investigations underway, with each of its 55 field offices across the country handling 764 related cases.
Virmani added, "And so the FBI is working hand in hand with our partners, our federal, state and local partners, for training, for awareness and to work together collaboratively to really combat this threat."
MORE: Dublin homicide stemmed from conversation between suspect and victim on Discord, police say
The FBI has arrested several prominent members of 764 over the past few years -- including 28-year-old Henry Ayala of the San Fernando Valley, charged with child pornography just last month, and 47-year-old Richard Densmore of Michigan, sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child.
Densmore said, "I have little children cut themselves for me and do weird (bleep)."
Densmore spoke on Discord before his arrest.
"And I record it," he said. "I have other people record it and like I'm part of a cult, like a really bad people cult."
"This group is also a terror threat," Becca Spinks said. "They try to goad children into committing acts of terrorism, school shootings, things of that nature."
Spinks is a self-defense advocate, competition sharpshooter, and private investigator who has been researching 764 for years, fielding calls for help from victims and their families and providing information to law enforcement.
BECCA SPINKS: "Taking down the leaders was a really good first move, but it's far from over. We still have a long way to go to make sure that we're controlling this and make sure that nobody else steps up to the plate to lead the group now."
DAN NOYES: "How does this end?"
MOTHER: "As in, how do we stop them?"
DAN NOYES: "Yes."
MOTHER: "I don't mean to be pessimistic, but at this point in time it feels like it's too big. It's just this disease that has spread throughout the world. Could be the kid next door in their bedroom, who is doing the most horrific things to another kid on the other side of the world, and the parents don't know."
That mother's daughter is set to testify in at least one case underway. It could be more.
The victims are young, but so are some of the predators. Several teen 764 members have been arrested.
By the way, victims can also be male. Bottom line, watch your kids. It's so important to get involved in what they're doing online. The companies, including the makers of Minecraft, Roblox and Discord, all say they are aware of the issues and are taking steps to combat those who would prey on children.
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