Scarborough public school officials sent out a letter to the community this week warning of potential threats from Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) groups that target children online.
According to the email, sent Thursday by RSU 5 Superintended Jean Skorapa, Maine school officials throughout the region received credible information from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency that multiple NVEs are actively targeting children online.
NVE groups, according to the email, operate by infiltrating popular video games, such Roblox and Minecraft, as well as major social media platforms, to “inflict severe psychological and physical harm on children, specifically targeting those between the ages of 9 and 17, and their families.”
Citing the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the email reads:
“The groups are known to force minor victims to produce Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). They then use that CSAM as leverage to force victims to perform acts of violence, animal abuse, or self-harm.”
“The groups also engage in extensive swatting, harassment, and intimidation campaigns to silence their victims. It is essential that adults who genuinely care for children understand the various ways young people are using online platforms, such as those mentioned above,” Superintended Skorapa wrote in her email.
The email included the following list of tips from the U.S. Department of Justice for keeping children safe online:
- Discuss internet safety and develop an online safety plan with children before they engage in online activity. Establish clear guidelines, teach children to spot red flags, and encourage children to have open communication with you.
- Supervise young children’s use of the internet, including periodically checking their profiles and posts. Keep electronic devices in open, common areas of the home and consider setting time limits for their use.
- Review games, apps, and social media sites before they are downloaded or used by children. Pay particular attention to apps and sites that feature end-to-end encryption, direct messaging, video chats, file uploads, and user anonymity, which are frequently relied upon by online child predators.
- Adjust privacy settings and use parental controls for online games, apps, social media sites, and electronic devices.
- Tell children to avoid sharing personal information, photos, and videos online in public forums or with people they do not know in real life. Explain to your children that images posted online will be permanently on the internet.
- Teach children about body safety and boundaries, including the importance of saying ‘no’ to inappropriate requests both in the physical world and the virtual world.
- Be alert to potential signs of abuse, including changes in children’s use of electronic devices, attempts to conceal online activity, withdrawn behavior, angry outbursts, anxiety, and depression.
- Encourage children to tell a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult if anyone asks them to engage in sexual activity or other inappropriate behavior.
- Immediately report suspected online enticement or sexual exploitation of a child by calling 911, contacting the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, or filing a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5678 or report.cybertip.org.
Skorapa said that RSU 5 does not currently have any specific evidence of students in the district being actively targeted by the online NVE groups.
“We wanted to share this information so that parents and caregivers will be informed and can take appropriate steps to help keep our children safe,” she wrote.
