Dangerous Connections: How teenagers are recruited online to commit terrorist attacks

Moscow is strengthening the prevention of the recruitment of minors via the Internet. Malefactors increasingly offer teenagers easy earnings, involve them in supposedly harmless tasks, and then incite them to commit arson, sabotage, and other crimes. Educational projects have been launched in the capital to protect schoolchildren, and warnings about dangerous schemes are being distributed through social networks and popular bloggers. Why children become the target of intruders, what methods recruiters use and what to do if a teenager has already been influenced by them — in the Izvestia article.

How Moscow students are taught to identify recruiters on the Internet

An educational project aimed at preventing the recruitment of children and teenagers via the Internet is being implemented in the capital. Special attention is paid to online games, instant messengers and social networks, where attackers can establish contact with minors, promising money for completing simple tasks. Subsequently, such orders often develop into demands to commit arson, sabotage or other serious crime.

As reported in the REN TV story, special animated videos have been prepared for the prevention of such cases, which have already been watched by about 800 thousand children. According to Irina Kaklyugina, head of the Moscow Department of Education and Science, the project is showing significant results — fewer and fewer schoolchildren are being influenced by recruiters.

Warnings about dangerous schemes began to be distributed through information platforms popular among teenagers. Bloggers have been involved in the project, who analyze ways to involve minors in criminal activities and explain the possible consequences of carrying out illegal assignments.

Tatiana Tsyvareva, general producer of the MULT TV channel and editor-in-chief of the Karusel TV channel, told Izvestia that the form of material submission is of particular importance when creating such educational projects. According to her, one of the precursors of the new approach can be considered the animated series Arkady Parovozov rushes to the Rescue, which taught young viewers to recognize dangerous situations and act correctly when adults are not around.

The new project, unlike programs for toddlers, is aimed at a more adult audience. It is made in the style of a comic book, with dynamic editing and visual solutions that attract teenagers.

— It seems to me that this project will be interesting not only to teenagers and children, but also to adults, because we also sometimes forget what to pay attention to and where dangers can await us, — Tsyvareva noted.

One of the objectives of the project is to emotionally engage schoolchildren and make them think about the consequences of their own decisions, she added. Even a seemingly insignificant act can turn out to be the wrong choice and affect not only the child himself, but also his loved ones.

Such materials can become a reason to discuss issues of security within the family, the editorial staff member emphasized. At the same time, creating content for a teenage audience remains a separate challenge, since there are still not enough educational projects designed specifically for this age group.

How teenagers are recruited through Telegram and dating services

The danger of online recruitment is also confirmed by information from law enforcement agencies. According to an official statement from the FSB's Public Relations Center, 46 citizens aged 12 to 22 have been detained in the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, Leningrad Region and a number of other regions of the country since July 2025. They all used the same Telegram dating service.

According to the agency, the detainees carried out tasks of the Ukrainian special services, including carrying out armed attacks on law enforcement officers, arson attacks on transport, energy, communications, and the credit and financial system. Some also acted as couriers who transferred funds stolen from citizens through crypto exchanges.

The FSB also described a mechanism for involving young people in criminal activities. According to the agency, the attackers got acquainted with them on the Internet under the guise of girls, struck up a conversation and offered to meet. During the correspondence, the young men transmitted the geolocation of the intended meeting place, and also clicked on phishing links to pay for tickets or gifts.

Later, they were contacted by people posing as employees of Russian law enforcement agencies or Rosfinmonitoring. They claimed that the transmitted coordinates were allegedly used to prepare attacks, and the transferred money was credited to the accounts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Under threat of criminal prosecution, young people were incited to arson and attacks, passing them off as checking the anti-terrorist security of facilities.

The FSB described another scheme in a report on the detention of two residents of the Moscow region. According to the intelligence service, the attackers recruited them via Telegram under the pretext of working in detective and collection agencies. It was established that on April 28, 2026, the detainees held intimidation actions at the residential addresses of four heads of Roskomnadzor. The investigative authorities have opened a criminal case under the article on hooliganism.

Another case reported by the FSB is related to the prevention of a terrorist attack against the heads of Roskomnadzor on April 18, 2026. According to the security forces, the crime was planned to be committed by blowing up a car. In Moscow, Ufa, Novosibirsk and Yaroslavl, seven alleged participants in the preparation of the attack, recruited through Telegram, were detained.

All this suggests that attackers can use various methods of influence — from promises of earnings and romantic communication to intimidation of criminal liability. At the same time, the initial consent to a harmless proposal is gradually turning into an instrument of pressure.

Why do teenagers fall victim to recruiters and online scams

Experts call age-related psychological characteristics one of the reasons for the vulnerability of minors. Teenagers strive for independence, recognition, and financial independence, but they are not always able to objectively assess the consequences of their decisions.

In a comment on REN TV, practical psychologist Yulia Chelysheva drew attention to the emotionality of teenagers and the desire to get what they want quickly.

— They are very emotional, they are very excited, and these are people who really want to get a lot at once. Therefore, it is very easy to buy a teenager," the specialist explained.

At the same time, financial interest does not always become a determining factor. Attackers can exploit a child's need for communication, support, and recognition. Such contacts become especially dangerous when a teenager experiences difficulties in relationships with loved ones.

Conflicts within the family and the desire to earn money can contribute to the involvement of minors in fraudulent and sabotage schemes, retired FSB Major General Alexander Perelygin confirmed in an interview with Izvestia. According to him, the possibility of illegally obtaining personal data also contributes to the development of such crimes.

— And by stealing this data, the scammers who were engaged in thimbles got the opportunity to raise their class, increase their income by simply brainwashing people. This is a problem that must be dealt with," the expert emphasized.

The scale of the spread of dangerous online communities is illustrated by another message from the Central Control Center of the FSB of Russia. In Dagestan, employees of the department, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee, detained a minor who is suspected of creating and administering an international network of supporters of terrorist organizations.

According to the FSB, the suspect's activities were coordinated by the Ukrainian special services and aimed at recruiting Russian teenagers for armed attacks on educational institutions, terrorist attacks on transport and false reports of mining.

The agency stated that the detainee was involved in the organization of at least 15 terrorist crimes in 10 regions of Russia. The audience of the Internet resources administered by him exceeded 200 thousand users, about 5 thousand of whom were active members of the community.

In addition, according to another report from the federal service, in 2025, 84 administrators and members of the so-called matchmaking communities involved in the dissemination of more than 2.5 thousand false reports about the mining of Russian facilities were brought to criminal responsibility.

These cases show that minors can become both executors of individual assignments and participants in organized groups. Therefore, the prevention of recruitment requires attention not only to suspicious earnings offers, but also to the environment of teenagers online.

How to protect a child from recruitment and what to do in case of threats

Preventing the recruitment of minors requires the joint work of educational institutions, parents and law enforcement agencies. One of the main directions of prevention is the development of digital literacy. Teenagers need to be taught that danger can come not only from unknown sites, but also from interlocutors in familiar messengers and gaming communities.

Offers to receive money for actions whose meaning is not explained to the teenager, requests to hide correspondence from parents, demands to transfer personal data or photographs of documents should be a reason for caution. Special attention should be paid to messages in which the interlocutor begins to threaten the child or convinces him of the impossibility of abandoning previously reached agreements.

At the same time, recruiters' statements about the inevitability of punishment for refusing to commit a crime can be a way of psychological pressure. According to the provisions of art. 31 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("voluntary renunciation of a crime"), a person is not subject to criminal liability for a crime if he voluntarily and definitively refused to bring it to an end.

In addition, according to the note to Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("terrorist act"), a person who participated in the preparation of a terrorist act can be released from criminal liability if he promptly warned the authorities or otherwise helped prevent the crime. A prerequisite is the absence of any other corpus delicti in his actions.

That is, even after initially agreeing to an illegal offer, a teenager must refuse to run errands and seek help. At the same time, the possibility of exemption from liability depends on the specific circumstances of the case.

The timely response of adults plays an important role. If a child talks about suspicious communication, threats, or assignments they have already received, ensuring their safety becomes a top priority. Correspondence and contact details of the alleged recruiter should be saved for transfer to law enforcement agencies.

According to Tatiana Tsyvareva, educational projects can not only warn teenagers about the danger, but also unite the family around discussing difficult issues. It is especially important that children and adults can figure out together what consequences rash actions can entail, she concluded.