Com Networks: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the NCA Online Safety Warning

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued an urgent warning to UK parents, teachers and safeguarding leads about a growing online threat known as "Com" networks — organised groups coercing children, overwhelmingly girls as young as 11, into self-harm and sharing explicit material on mainstream apps including Snapchat, Instagram, Discord and Telegram.

This guide explains what Com networks are, the warning signs to look out for, and the practical steps parents and teachers can take today.

What are "Com" networks?

Com networks are online collectives of predominantly young, English-speaking men who collaborate or compete to cause harm — including child sexual abuse, sextortion, cyber-attacks and extremist content. They operate on the same everyday social media and messaging platforms that young people already use, not the dark web.

How big is the threat?

The NCA's most recent National Strategic Assessment, published in March 2025, found that reports of this threat increased six-fold in the UK between 2022 and 2024, with thousands of offenders and victims estimated across the UK and other Western countries.

NCA Director General Graeme Biggar told the BBC that the techniques being used are evolving rapidly: "We're seeing the same online deception techniques used to extort data from companies stolen in cyber breaches also being used to coerce vulnerable girls into harming themselves or other family members."

He added: "The level of social networking, the pursuit of notoriety within the networks, and the speed of moving to the most extreme harms, is new and shocking."

Recent UK cases

Several high-profile prosecutions over the past year have brought the threat into sharper focus.

January 2025 — six-year sentence at the Old Bailey. A 19-year-old from West Sussex was sentenced to six years in prison for encouraging suicide, possessing a terrorism manual, possessing indecent images of a child and criminal damage. He was a member of an extreme online network known as 764, which blackmails children, mainly girls, into sexual acts, self-harm or suicide attempts. He communicated with victims and other members via Telegram, Discord and Snapchat, and according to Counter Terrorism Policing South East encouraged at least one young woman to livestream her suicide so he could share it with the group. The BBC has reported that at least four British teenagers have been arrested in connection with 764.

February 2025 — conviction for fraud and indecent images. A man was convicted of fraud and indecent images of children offences committed when he was 17, and linked by the NCA to a prolific online harms group.

November 2025 — Telegram Com group moderator jailed for seven and a half years. A 29-year-old from Portsmouth was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 21 November 2025 following an NCA investigation into a 6,000-strong Com group on Telegram. More than 100 child victims aged 12 to 17 were identified, with at least 25% believed to be from the UK. The group coerced children into sending photos, escalating demands to indecent images and then to forcing victims to carve the names of their tormentors on their bodies. He received a sentence of seven years and six months' imprisonment and a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Online safety advice for parents

1. Talk openly and without judgement. Ask about your child's online world regularly. Make clear they will not be in trouble for coming to you — fear of consequences is the single biggest barrier to disclosure.

2. Know the warning signs of online grooming. Look for secrecy about devices, new online "friends," sudden mood changes, withdrawal, unexplained gifts or money, or signs of self-harm.

3. Review privacy settings together. Go through follower lists, switch accounts to private and turn off geo-location on every app — with your child, not to them.

4. Keep devices out of bedrooms overnight. Most coercive contact escalates after dark, when children are tired, isolated and less likely to push back.

5. Teach the SMART online safety rules:

• Safe — keep personal information private
• Meeting — never meet someone offline without a trusted adult
• Accepting — do not accept files or links from strangers
• Reliable — people and information online are not always what they seem
• Tell — a trusted adult if something feels wrong

Online safety advice for teachers and DSLs

1. Embed online safety across the curriculum. A one-off assembly is not enough. Weave age-appropriate conversations into PSHE, computing and form time.

2. Communicate with parents. Use newsletters, parents' evenings and pupil-led presentations so families know what to look for at home.

3. Build a safe disclosure culture. Children disclose to adults they trust. Make sure every pupil knows at least one staff member they can speak to without shame.

4. Follow your KCSIE safeguarding pathway. Familiarise yourself with your school's policy and your DSL. Concerns must be escalated immediately.

Worried right now? Where to report online abuse

• CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, part of the NCA) — ceop.police.uk
• Police — 101 for non-emergencies, 999 if a child is in immediate danger
• Childline — free and confidential, 24/7 for under-19s: 0800 1111
• Report Remove — a free Internet Watch Foundation and Childline service that can take down or pre-emptively block nude images of under-18s online

The bottom line

Com networks thrive on silence and shame. The single strongest protective factor is a child who feels able to tell a trusted adult — at home or at school — when something is wrong. Open conversations, clear reporting routes and joined-up safeguarding between parents and schools are what shut these groups down.

Frequently asked questions

What platforms do Com networks operate on?
Mainstream apps including Snapchat, Instagram, Discord, Telegram and gaming platforms — not the dark web.

Who do Com networks target?
Children, overwhelmingly girls — some as young as 11 — are groomed and coerced into sharing explicit material, self-harming or harming others.

What is the 764 network?
764 is an international online network, linked to the Order of Nine Angles, that recruits teenagers through mainstream chat apps and pressures them into self-harm, sexual blackmail and attempted suicide. It is under active investigation by the FBI and UK Counter Terrorism Policing.

How do I report online abuse in the UK?
Report directly to CEOP at ceop.police.uk, call 101, or dial 999 if a child is in immediate danger.

What should I do if my child has already shared images?
Use the Internet Watch Foundation and Childline's free Report Remove service to have the images taken down. Reassure your child they are not in trouble.