Do you know what Com Groups are?
Com Groups are online groups where people carry out very serious crimes, including child sexual abuse, serious violence, cybercrime, and extremism. These groups can change quickly, and members may be involved in more than one type of harmful activity.
People in these groups often compete with each other to gain attention, status, and respect from other members. They may do this by creating or sharing extremely harmful content or by pressuring children and young people to harm themselves or others.
Offenders often use grooming, threats, blackmail, and extortion to control victims. They may trick or pressure children and young people into sharing intimate images, which are then used to humiliate, embarrass, or control them.
How They Operate
Targeting Vulnerabilities: Perpetrators specifically seek out lonely or vulnerable young people on everyday gaming and social forums, targeting mental health struggles, neurodivergence, or self-harm history.
Gamification of Harm: Groups use point systems, challenges, and leaderboards where members trade or stream evidence of extreme acts to gain hierarchy and power.
The Three Pillars of Activity:
Sextortion/Coercion: Forcing victims to produce explicit material or self-harm under severe digital blackmail.
Cybercrime: Engaging in swatting (calling armed police to a victim’s home), doxing, and network hacks.
Offline Crime: Inciting real-world violence, arson, or assaults.
Warning Signs and Safeguarding
- Unexplained physical injuries, carving symbols/numbers, or self-harm marks.
- Extreme secrecy, intense fear of having digital devices confiscated, or distress when pressured to leave an online group.
- Fascination with occult imagery, gore, or extremist material.
Law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency, treat these networks as severe public safety threats. If you suspect a young person is being exploited or coerced by a dangerous online group, contact local authorities, child protection services, or relevant safeguarding organizations immediately.
