The FBI is warning parents about a violent and deeply disturbing online network called “764” that’s targeting children and teens across the U.S. Predators connected to the group use popular platforms like Discord, Roblox, and others to befriend young people, then manipulate them into creating explicit content, harming themselves, abusing pets, or even making violent threats.

FBI Assistant Director David Scott called it “one of the most disturbing things we’re seeing,” with over 250 open investigations and all 55 FBI field offices currently working related cases. Victims have been as young as 9 years old.

Predators often extort victims using photos and videos they were pressured to send, sometimes even hosting “watch parties” to broadcast the abuse live. In several cases, victims were pushed so far they ended up participating in criminal behavior themselves—like making bomb threats or hacking accounts—under the predator’s control.

Authorities say 764 glorifies chaos and violence, idolizes past mass attacks like Columbine, and even incorporates extremist ideologies like neo-Nazism or satanism. The FBI has begun classifying its most dangerous members as “nihilistic violent extremists.”

So far, arrests have been made nationwide, including men caught with massive collections of disturbing content and one individual who plotted to kill a 14-year-old girl who resisted his demands.

Parents are being urged to monitor their children’s online activity, watch for signs of self-harm or sudden changes in behavior, and report any concerns to law enforcement. Open communication with children is key, officials say, to helping them avoid becoming victims of this expanding threat.