Sadistic online exploitation and 764: what Australian parents need to know

If you have seen the news about "764" or "sadistic online cults" and felt sick, you are not alone. This guide explains what Australian police are dealing with, how these groups reach children, the warning signs police have published, and what to do. It is deliberately calm. These are rare, serious crimes. The most protective thing a parent can do is know the signs and be someone a frightened child can tell.

What it is

Australian police call it sadistic online exploitation. Organised online groups find children, gain their trust, and then use threats and blackmail to force them to make sexual content, hurt themselves, hurt animals or hurt other people. Often the content is filmed or livestreamed. Unlike most sextortion, the aim is usually not money. The groups trade the material among themselves and use it to control the child.

764 is the best-known name, after a group started in the United States in 2020. It sits inside a wider, loosely connected network that includes other groups with other names. Members move between them, so a child may never hear the name 764 at all. Police ask the media not to promote these names, so we use it here only so parents can recognise it in the news.

It is happening in Australia

• In October 2025 the AFP launched Taskforce Pompilid to target this network. At launch it had identified 59 alleged offenders in Australia.
• WA Police told ABC's 7.30 in October 2026 that they had received 19 referrals in 18 months. One was a 14-year-old girl who was first contacted on Roblox, moved to Discord, and then blackmailed and pushed to self-harm.
• The AFP says some offenders are very young themselves, as young as 11, and that some victims are pressured into harming others.

How it usually happens

The pattern reported by police and researchers looks like other online grooming, then turns much darker:

• First contact in a game or app the child already uses. Roblox, Minecraft, Discord, Instagram and Snapchat have all been named.
• Friendship or romance. The offender is warm, flattering and attentive.
• Move to private chat. Discord and Telegram are common.
• An image becomes leverage. Once the child has sent something intimate, the threats begin. This is sextortion, but the demand is for escalating acts rather than money.
• Escalation. The child is ordered to self-harm, sometimes carving names or symbols into their skin, or to harm a pet, often on camera. Refusing brings threats to send images to family or school, or to report false emergencies to police at the family's address.

Roblox and Discord are not covered by Australia's under-16 social media minimum age, so the ban does not remove this pathway. See what the ban doesn't cover, and our guides to Roblox and Discord.

Warning signs

The ACCCE and AFP list these as possible signs that a child is a victim:

• Signs of self-harm, including symbols carved into the skin, bite marks or burns.
• Changes in eating or sleeping.
• Sudden withdrawal from family, friends or usual activities.
• Secretive online behaviour, or very long periods on devices.
• Extreme language or symbols, or suddenly rejecting values they used to hold.

WA Police also mention children hiding devices or what is on them, and isolating themselves. Other things worth noticing are long sleeves in hot weather, a pet that suddenly seems afraid of your child, and gifts, money or game currency arriving from someone you don't know.

One sign on its own rarely means this. Several together, especially injuries alongside secrecy about a device, is reason to gently ask.

What to do if you are worried

• If your child is in immediate danger, call 000. If they are hurt, get medical help first.
• Stay calm and listen. Don't interrupt or blame. Your child has likely been told that something terrible will happen if they tell anyone. Say clearly that they are not in trouble.
• Keep the evidence. Screenshot the offender's username, profile picture and messages, and write down the date and time. Don't delete accounts or chats, because police may need them.
• Report to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) at accce.gov.au/report. It works with the AFP and state police. You can also call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.
• Report the account to the platform, then block it.
• Don't pay or bargain. Doing what they ask does not make the threats stop.
• Keep routines normal and suggest some time offline, without cutting your child off from every friend they have online.
• These services are Australian. If you are outside Australia, please contact your local equivalent, or your local emergency number if someone is in immediate danger.

Support for your child, and for you

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 is free, confidential and open 24/7. Children can call, webchat or email without involving a parent, and Kids Helpline supports parents too. Lifeline: 13 11 14 is also available 24/7. A GP or headspace can help with ongoing support.

If you are worried a young person is being drawn into violent or extremist ideas, Step Together (steptogether.gov.au) offers confidential advice.

What a filter can and can't do

Software can catch some of this. Aunty Bea, for example, recognises the names these groups use when they turn up in web searches and pages it checks, and lets you know. But the most important signs above are ones no app can see: a new scar, a frightened pet, a child who goes quiet. Filters are a backstop. Noticing, and being someone your child can tell, matters more. Our guide on how to talk to your kid about online safety can help you have that conversation before you need it.

One sentence worth saying to your child in advance: "If anyone online ever threatens you, or tells you to hurt yourself or anyone else, tell me. You won't be in trouble, whatever you've already sent or done."

Sources: AFP, Taskforce Pompilid launch (Oct 2025) and information for parents and carers; ACCCE, sadistic online exploitation help page and parent and carer guide (May 2026); eSafety, which platforms are age-restricted (Sep 2026); ABC 7.30 (5 Oct 2026); Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, CTC Sentinel (Jun 2026).