Parents often do not know what their children are up to — especially young children who may appear to be just playing games on a computer or chatting with others. Children are getting into cybercrime younger and younger and are actively being recruited. Read these public service announcements from the Internet Crime Complaint Center this week.
Alert Number: I-072325-3-PSA
July 23, 2025
The Com: Theft, Extortion, and Violence are a Rising Threat to Youth Online
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning the public about a growing and evolving online threat group known as The Com, short for The Community. The Com is a primarily English speaking, international, online ecosystem comprised of multiple interconnected networks whose members, many of whom are minors, engage in a variety of criminal violations. The FBI estimates thousands of individuals identify as current or recent members of The Com with varying levels of associated activity. Criminal activity conducted by members of The Com includes, but is not limited to, swatting1/hoax threats, extortion/sextortion of minors, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, violent crime, and various types of cyber crimes. The latter category is broad and includes distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, subscriber identity module (SIM) swapping, ransomware, intellectual property theft, extortion, cryptocurrency theft, and money laundering. The motivations behind the criminal activity vary, but often fall within one of the following: financial gain, retaliation, ideology, sexual gratification, and notoriety.
Alert Number: I-072325-2-PSA
July 23, 2025
In Real Life (IRL) Com: Violent Subset of The Community (Com) is a Rising Threat to Youth Online
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning the public about In Real Life (IRL) Com, one of three subsets of the growing and evolving online threat group known as The Com, short for The Community. The Com is a primarily English speaking, international, online ecosystem comprised of multiple interconnected networks whose members, many of whom are minors, engage in a variety of criminal violations. The members within IRL Com typically have a shared interest, ideology, or goal and work together, adding others to the group and splintering when necessary, to achieve their mission.
IRL Com, which initially stemmed from the subscriber identity module (SIM) swapping community, includes subgroups that provide violence as a service (VaaS) and encompasses a range of violent crime. IRL services include shootings, kidnappings, armed robbery, stabbings, physical assault, and bricking. Services are posted online with a price breakdown for each act of violence. Groups offering VaaS advertise contracts on social media platforms to solicit individuals willing to conduct the act of violence for monetary compensation.
Much of the IRL violence within The Com arose from online conflicts in the SIM swapping community; however, the IRL violence has not only intensified but also expanded to other layers of The Com, emerging as its own market.
Alert Number: I-072325-PSA
July 23, 2025
Hacker Com: Cyber Criminal Subset of The Community (Com) is a Rising Threat to Youth Online
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning the public about Hacker Com, one of three subsets of the growing and evolving online threat group known as The Com, short for The Community. The Com is a primarily English speaking, international, online ecosystem comprised of multiple interconnected networks whose members, many of whom are minors, engage in a variety of criminal violations. Members of Hacker Com typically have a shared interest, ideology, or goal and work together, adding others to the group and splintering when necessary, to achieve their mission.
Hacker Com involves a broad community of technically sophisticated cyber criminals, some of whom are linked to ransomware-as-a service (RaaS) groups. Members of Hacker Com often sell technical services for a profit and use their technical capabilities to steal cryptocurrency to fund other criminal activity. Computer-related criminal activity within Hacker Com includes, but is not limited to, distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks, compromise of personally identifiable information, sale of government email accounts, ransomware attacks, phishing, malware development and deployment, cryptocurrency theft, computer intrusions, and subscriber identity module (SIM) swapping. Hacker Com actors use tools such as: remote access trojans, phishing kits, voice over internet protocol (VOIP) providers, voice modulators, virtual private networks (VPNs), spoofing technology, cryptocurrency cash out services, live streaming services, and encrypted email domains to facilitate their criminal activity and conceal their true identities. While many of these tools and methods are used throughout the entirety of The Com, some are more prevalent within Hacker Com subgroups. Open-source information indicates Hacker Com groups are responsible for high-profile attacks and intrusions and have affiliations with ransomware organizations.