An important warning for parents and caregivers, from the FBI Pittsburgh office.
Calling it overly disturbing, agents say there are groups targeting minors online as young as 7-years-old, meeting them through video games or online chatrooms, using threats and blackmail to coerce the kids into harming themselves, animals, and their families, and making them live stream it.
“They’re goal is to walk that child as far down the line as they can until it ends in suicide and the quicker law enforcement can get involved and the quicker that child can get the proper help they need,” FBI Pittsburgh Supervisory Special Agent Tim Wolford told KDKA Radio.
Wolford tells parents to watch their kids for signs of self-harm or a fascination of cults.
He says parents should monitor their child's online activity.