Rebekah Nijsen from Lighthouse Cyber Education joined Doug on Mornings to discuss what every parent needs to know about the right-wing extremist cult, 764.
764 is an online group that focuses on right-wing or neo-Nazi ideology. It grooms minors for self-harm, suicide and animal cruelty. The creator of this group was a 15-year-old child that recruited like-minded kids initially via online games and then through encrypted peer to peer platforms.
“They target vulnerable kids online. They can be victimised by members of the group, resulting in self-harm that’s streamed online,” said Rebekah.
It has become topical in Perth because children in this city are starting to report contact through this group.
Online Games
Rebekah said that awareness for parents is paramount, as a gateway for this group is through online gaming platforms, such as Roblox and Minecraft. The chat then moves to a private room in an encrypted peer to peer platforms like Discord and Telegram.
“The first group is kids that they’re trying to recruit through comm networks. They target young boys, between about 10 to 15 years.”
After the initial engagement, chat moves to a private room in an encrypted peer to peer platforms like Discord and Telegram, where the kids are indoctrinated by the radical views of the group. To become a member of 764 an initiation takes place. This involves finding a target that is susceptible to being groomed.
“The other element is they’re also looking for other vulnerable kids, generally young females, same age range, that maybe they have gone through a traumatic incident, maybe a broken home, loss in the family recently, and they’re also trying to connect.”
Once a victim is identified, the grooming starts. The victim is ‘love bombed’ and made to feel seen. Control and abuse then takes place, where they are coerced and instructed to perform self-harm acts to prove their love. This act is recorded on video and played in a private chat to the group. Whilst this occurs the member is daily indoctrinating the victim into believing right wing racist ideologies.
Behaviours to Watch
Look for sudden behavioural changes, are they being secretive, hiding themselves in their rooms. They might also say racist comments or act unkind or cruel to their pets or siblings.
“They might become more secretive or hiding what they’re doing online, hiding their devices. It could also, they could be making more racist comments or unkind comments, being unkind to maybe or cruel to pets or siblings.”
Rebekah said children who are at risk might wear longer clothing during summer to cover themselves from signs of self-harm.
Keep Devices Out of Bedrooms
She reiterated that letting kids have devices in their bedrooms is one of the biggest risks.
“Now we can be armed to say, that’s why we really need to take a stand and get these devices out of the bedroom. Also, if our kids are struggling, if they’re struggling with self-identity or self-worth, maybe don’t have a positive self-image or struggling with eating disorders, it’s really important to tell our kids that ‘What you feel matters’.
Online Relationships are Not Safe
“The safest place for you to share how you’re feeling is face to face with a real person.”
Rebekah said that parents should be creating opportunities at home, where kids feel that they can be real and share how they are feeling.
Have Positive Role Models
“Kids are influenced through influencers a lot more than they are through professionals these days. That seems to be where Gen Z and Gen Alpha are going. So as parents, be proactive with that.”
She emphasised that love-bombing can be a place for spiritual warfare.
“It’s about breaking that connection. When love bombing happens, a spiritual connection can occur. So for those people that have the faith, prayer is an amazing thing. And for things that we maybe don’t understand, we can pray and God can come in and bring the light. because I think there’s a lot of darkness out there, but light will always shine through. Speak truth and speak life in your families, to your kids, and know that you’re not alone in it.”
She continued, “If your kids are struggling with eating disorders or mental health issues, sit down and talk to them, explain speaking to a person face to face offline is a much safer place.”
If your child is a victim, please reach out to Cybercrime Investigations at Western Australian Police Force for assistance.
Check out the full chat with Doug and Rebekah Nijsen below.