764 and Predatory Online Networks — a guide for parents
How these networks reach children through games, the move to private chat, the warning signs that matter, and exactly what to do. Bilingual, free, no scaremongering.
Please do not upload, email or paste suspected child sexual abuse material to this site. Report it directly to the IWF, CEOP or police instead.
What 764 actually is
764 is the name of a criminal network that targets children online. It is not a game, not a fandom and not a movement with any cause. It is a group of offenders who find children on public platforms, earn their trust, move them onto private chat, and then coerce them into producing sexual images and video.
The name comes from an identifier used across several linked groups. Investigators treat them as one family of offenders because the method is identical and the material is shared between them. UK agencies — CEOP and the Internet Watch Foundation — and US law enforcement have all warned about them through 2024–2026.
- They are organised, not lone opportunists — accounts, scripts and material are traded between members.
- The victims are mostly boys aged 11–15 — a group that is under-served by most safety advice, which assumes girls.
- They rely on shame — the whole method is built so a child feels too embarrassed to tell anyone.
- Money is often not the goal — in many cases the aim is the material itself, which makes the usual "they want your bank details" advice useless here.
"But they only met on Roblox" — why games matter
Most parents we speak to assume grooming happens on social media. In the cases that reach UK investigators, it very often starts inside a game a child has been playing for years, with the chat function that came switched on by default.
Roblox itself is not the problem — it is a large, moderated platform with real safety tools. The problem is the move: a stranger makes contact in a game, then asks the child to continue on Discord, Snapchat, Telegram or a game's own private server. That move is the single most reliable warning sign there is.
- Watch for the request to leave — "add me on Discord", "let's talk somewhere private", "the mods here read everything".
- Watch for gifts — Robux, in-game items, skins or gift cards, given before anything is asked for.
- Watch for age lies — an account claiming to be 14 that talks like an adult, or a "friend of a friend" who is always available.
- Watch for the secret — a child who suddenly hides a screen, closes an app when you walk in, or has a new account you did not set up.
Warning signs in your own house
No single sign proves anything. Several together, and a child who shuts down when you ask, is worth taking seriously. Trust the pattern over the individual item.
- Hiding the screen — closing a tab or app the moment you come in, or tilting the phone away.
- A new, unshared account — a second Discord, a new Snapchat, a name you do not recognise.
- Money or items you did not buy — Robux, skins, gift cards, or a bank account used for something unexplained.
- Sleep and mood changes — up late, withdrawn, irritable, or suddenly anxious about school.
- Secrecy that is new — a previously open child who now guards their devices.
- Any mention of not being believed — "they said they'd send it to everyone", "I'd be in trouble".
What to do — in order
- Do not delete anything. Screenshots, usernames, profile links and message threads are evidence. Deleting can destroy the case.
- Do not confront the other person. Never message the account, and do not let your child reply.
- Tell your child it is not their fault — first, and clearly. The entire method depends on them believing they are to blame.
- Report to CEOP using the red button at ceop.police.uk. This is the specialist UK route for online child sexual abuse, and it works whether or not you are sure.
- Report the images to the IWF at report.iwf.org.uk if any images exist. The IWF can have material removed; they cannot trace you back to the report.
- Report the accounts on the platform itself — Roblox, Discord, Snapchat each have a specific child-safety reporting route, and platform removal is faster than any legal process.
- Call 101, or 999 in an emergency, if there is an immediate risk or a child is in danger now.
- Get support for your child. NSPCC 0808 800 5000, Childline 0800 1111, or your local authority's children's services. You do not have to handle this alone.
Family rules that actually work
- Chat stays on the game. No moving to Discord, Snapchat or Telegram with anyone met in a game. Ever. This one rule blocks most of the method.
- No accepting gifts from strangers — Robux, skins, gift cards. If someone gives you something, tell me.
- Devices in shared rooms after a set time — not as a punishment, as a habit.
- I might look at your screen, and that is not an accusation. Normalise it early, so it is never a surprise.
- You can always tell me something bad and I will not shout. Repeat it until it is boring.
Sources
- CEOP Safety Centre — UK national reporting route for online child sexual abuse.
- Internet Watch Foundation — UK hotline for reporting criminal imagery of children.
- NSPCC — helpline 0808 800 5000 and family support.
- Childline — 0800 1111, free and confidential for under-19s.
- US Federal Bureau of Investigation public warnings on networked sextortion groups, 2024–2026.
Written by CyberAware UK from former UK law-enforcement experience. Reviewed against CEOP and IWF public guidance, November 2026.
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