The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas field office is warning parents, guardians, and teachers about violent online networks that are connecting with children through internet platforms and whose members have been arrested for sexually exploiting children.
The FBI is specifically warning against the online group “764,” which connects with children through popular gaming and social media platforms. The agency says group members pose as friends but will eventually pressure their victims “into harming themselves or others.”
Despite having different motives, these network members have the same singular target of children and other at-risk individuals. After developing trust with the victim, network members will pressure them into providing personal information and explicit pictures and videos. These are often used to blackmail their victims into creating more explicit content.
When a victim refuses to comply, these pictures and videos are sent to family members and friends or are made publicly available online. Network members may also attempt swatting, doxxing, or vandalizing victims’ homes to further pressure them.
Besides trying to bring awareness to the public regarding this threat, FBI Dallas is also investigating more than 450 subjects with ties to these networks.
Last month, FBI Dallas announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Austin Jan Sy Yatco of Plano, Texas, who is accused of “exploiting minors into creating child pornography of themselves, which he then distributed among a violent online network similar to 764.”
Parents and guardians are encouraged to look for potential signs that their child may be a victim of these online networks, including sudden behavior or appearance changes, unexplained scars and cuts, threats of suicide, unexplained injuries to pets, and unexplained gaming currency or gift card activity.
FBI Dallas also encourages parents and guardians to talk with their children about these threats and monitor their children’s online activity.
In March 2025, a Tampa man who was a member of 764, according to court filings, was sentenced to serve 84 months in federal prison after being convicted of possessing child sex abuse material.
Another member of 764 was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child in 2024.
Those who know of a victim of this network or have information regarding its members or their activities, the FBI requests that you report it to 1-800-CALL-FBI.
