Detectives in Scotland have joined international law enforcement agencies to target online gangs that groom and coerce children into acts of self-harm. Officers are actively hunting members of loose online networks known as “The Com,” which primarily target vulnerable girls through mainstream social media platforms and gaming networks.
The Investigation in Scotland
Police Scotland’s internet investigations unit is examining numerous graphic files sent by the National Crime Agency (NCA), material originally flagged by the United States-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Detective Constable Paul, speaking to BBC News from a locked room at the Scottish Crime Campus, explained that his team must review nearly a thousand images in a single case to identify both the victims and the Scottish perpetrators. These violent collectives often manipulate and blackmail victims into self-harm and abuse simply to gain peer approval or “kudos.”
Investigators report that the targeted victims are typically vulnerable young girls aged between 11 and 17, whose existing vulnerabilities are exploited by the perpetrators. Abusers frequently use occult or Satanic symbols in their imagery to appear as extreme as possible and exert total psychological control. While there has been one arrest in Scotland so far, authorities note that groups such as “The 764” and “CVLT” form part of a wider, shifting landscape of online extremism and financial crimes.
Detective Chief Inspector Craig Faulds, who leads the effort targeting these groups in Scotland, told the BBC that these crimes represent a dangerous evolution of online child abuse and sexual exploitation. He explained that abusers often initiate contact on innocuous gaming platforms before shifting conversations to social media, messaging services, and online forums. Police Scotland is currently mapping the threat to fully understand its significance and prevalence across the region.
Global Scale and Perpetrator Profiles
Hazel Stewart of the NCA’s Threat Leadership team described the prevalence of Com groups as low-volume and high-harm, emphasizing that the scale is secondary to the severe damage inflicted. She told the BBC that the abusers are frequently young males who experience social isolation or bullying, seeking identity online by targeting vulnerable individuals on eating disorder or suicidal ideation sites. Perpetrators typically build rapport by offering initial support before escalating demands to include self-harm, abuse of pets, or harm to siblings, leaving victims feeling trapped.
Law enforcement agencies are treating this as a global problem, with UK authorities collaborating closely with counterparts in the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, alongside Europol and Interpol. Meanwhile, the Molly Rose Foundation has issued stark warnings regarding these networks. Chief Executive Andy Burrows told the BBC that the groups represent the gravest risk to children online and argued that online safety regulator Ofcom has been slow to respond to the threat.
An Ofcom spokesperson stated that the threats posed by Com groups are a major concern and that the regulator is working closely with law enforcement and child protection agencies, adding that they will not hesitate to act against services that fail to comply with their duties.
