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- The seducers of these little ones: Ukrainian terrorists recruit children on the Internet
The seducers of these little ones: Ukrainian terrorists recruit children on the Internet
In the Irkutsk region, transport police and FSB officers prevented the recruitment of an 11th-grader, whom the attackers almost forced to become an accomplice to the crime. The teenager was taken off the train on his way to Kuzbass: acting on the legend of "treason", the curators convinced the girl to secretly leave her relatives to complete a certain task. Previously, the purpose of deceiving a child was his parents' wallet, but today they are trying to use children to commit murders, terrorist attacks and other serious crimes. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The case in Siberia
In March, unknown people contacted an 11th-grader by phone in Irkutsk, extracted passport information and, posing as law enforcement officers, accused the minor of financing banned organizations and treason. Intimidated by criminal liability, the recruiters offered the girl to become a "secret freelance employee of the special services." To do this, she had to secretly leave for another region, awaiting further instructions.
The schoolgirl informed her relatives that she was going to a friend's house, received money from the curators for a ticket and clothes, and set off, constantly reporting her location. The FSB operatives managed to identify the threat in time, and the transport police intercepted the girl on a train bound for the Kemerovo region, removing her from the influence of intruders.
Izvestia's law enforcement sources confirmed that this is not the first time such a scheme has been used.
— Recruiters manipulate teenagers from different regions, in some cases forcing them to interact with each other. The most "harmless" thing for which the guys are used by telephone supervisors is the transportation and transfer of stolen funds," the source explained to Izvestia.
In order to prevent manipulation and inform the police, a corresponding post was posted on the official UBK channel "Bulletin of the Cyber Police of Russia".
"Law enforcement officers never give instructions over the phone or in messengers. You will not be offered to "participate in the operation," transfer valuables, "transport a parcel," or set something on fire. <...> Under no circumstances commit illegal acts, even if you are threatened with criminal prosecution, they claim that this is a "special operation," they promise a reward or dismissal of charges," the message says. the message.
A teenager can commit a terrorist act, hooliganism, arson, says Dmitry Vtorov, president of the Search for Missing Children Foundation. The biggest danger, according to Volkov, is that children become "expendable."
— They can die doing dangerous tasks without realizing what they are doing. It's a social game for them. The fate of the children means absolutely nothing to the villain.
Portrait of the victim
Criminologist Sebila Salamova points to the transition from spontaneous street crime to the controlled, remote involvement of minors in the commission of serious and especially serious crimes.
— The organizer (who is often abroad) does not bear the risk of being caught, and the responsibility falls on the child, who, at his underage age, can receive a real sentence, — says the interlocutor of Izvestia.
The classic scheme of remote involvement of minors in criminal activity over the past two or three years has been worked out on thousands of teenagers across the country, says Salamova.
— The child becomes an "expendable material" in the hands of adults who control him, using his weaknesses, desires and fears, — says Salamova. — Criminals are not looking for "bad" children. Teenagers who are experiencing financial difficulties, looking for a part-time job on the Internet, and "easy" money are at risk. They are also often children who feel a sense of loneliness, a desire to assert themselves and raise their authority among their peers. The search for such minors usually takes place through social networks and messengers, job channels, interest groups, and dating sites.
Biological vulnerability
— Almost all children and adolescents are at risk. This is due to biological development — the maturation of the prefrontal cortex: the emotional centers are more developed, and the prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and self-control, is not yet fully formed. As a result, many teenagers act impulsively, seek risks, and are focused on short—term goals rather than long-term prospects," explains Dmitry Vtorov.
The expert emphasizes that at the age of 14-19, the limbic system dominates, causing increased impulsivity and emotionality, which is actively used by intruders. Interestingly, contrary to stereotypes, boldness can be a disadvantage, and timidity can be a protection.
— More timid children sometimes turn out to be more protected — fear can make them break off contact with scammers. On the contrary, bolder and more independent teenagers are sometimes easier to get involved.
Even a high level of intelligence does not save from recruitment: suggestibility depends on life experience and upbringing, not on IQ, Vtorov believes.
The deception algorithm
First, the teenager is offered an easy task: transfer money, send a message, take a picture of something. The teenager gets a small but real amount of money.
— He has an illusion: "adults work with me, they pay, so you can trust," explains Salamova. — The next task is obviously illegal: arson of an ATM, a military enlistment office, damage to a relay on the railway. As soon as the teenager has committed the act, the recruiters turn to threats: "you are now an accomplice, we know where you live, your parents will answer if you refuse." The teenager realizes that there is no way back and performs tasks until he is detained. After the arrest, the organizers disappear, blocking communication channels.
Why does this algorithm work so effectively with teenagers?
"The juvenile's risk sensitivity is reduced," explains the criminologist. — He does not believe that he will be caught, that something bad can happen to him, he is not able to calculate the consequences. Recruiters know this and use it.
They demand more
Psychologist Elena Zamyshevskaya notes that the range of levers of pressure on minors is wider than on adults. Intruders often use the family factor, intimidating a teenager that it will be bad for mom and dad.
In addition, in the practice of specialists, there are cases of the implementation of classic fraudulent schemes. The attackers are interested in personal data — from "Public Services" to postal operators, access codes to applications.
Of particular concern is the escalation of the demands that the attackers are making on young people. If earlier it was mainly about property-related actions, now the methods of involvement have become tougher.
"Young people are already being forced to commit murder," says Elena Zamyshevskaya. — That is, not to bring, take away, and so on, but to directly kill a person. And it's scary.
Openness is a minus
The main problem, according to Vtorov, is the excessive openness of children on the Internet.
— Unfortunately, following bloggers who are outwardly as open as possible, children are starting to follow the same trend. The child shows the location where he is by shooting the "video clips". You can identify his school, neighborhood, and friends. It happens when intruders establish contact with a child's friend in order to reach the victim later.
The expert urges not to ban the Internet, but to treat it with caution: it is impossible to refuse, but it is necessary to observe safety rules from early childhood.
— The Internet is the same as electricity. We cannot abandon it and switch to candles, but we need to talk a lot and devote a lot of time to security issues. Starting from the age of 5-6, using available methods," concluded Vtorov.
The expert called parents the "first frontier" between scammers and children. He considers trust, the development of empathy and timely identification of problems to be key factors of protection.
Vtorov urges parents not to be afraid to seek help from specialists if they feel that they are losing contact with their child or do not know how to convey safety rules to him.
— Don't be afraid to contact psychologists. I repeat it all the time like a mantra. There is no need to drag the child there right away. Contact yourself, explain to the psychologist the problem that you have. Ask for advice on how to start a conversation, how to adjust to the psychotype. There are no pills for all cases.
How to prevent
The system for the prevention of such crimes is frankly not working well today, says criminologist Salamova.
— We are trying to deal with the consequences, not the causes. Our legislation provides for the possibility of criminal prosecution for involving a minor in the commission of a crime, but this happens after the fact, when the crime has already been committed.
There is no system for early detection of risks, the expert notes.
— There is no mechanism that would allow you to receive signals that a child has become actively interested in the topic of easy earnings or has received a suspicious transfer to a card.
There is an acute issue with digital hygiene, we do not teach children to recognize recruitment. We don't teach that easy money from strangers on the Internet is always a trap. We don't teach parents how to spot danger. Without all this, any preventive programs will not work, experts say.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
