Parent Alert: Pickering School Targeted by Online Gang Preying on Children

According to a report from the Durham Police, a coordinated network of online groups known as “The Com” (short for “community”) has been actively targeting children, typically between the ages of 8 and 13, across several social media platforms, including Discord, Snapchat, Telegram, Roblox, Minecraft, Twitch, Steam, and other popular gaming sites.

In a letter sent to families today,

Durham Police Chief Peter Moreira warned that these groups utilize grooming, manipulation, intimidation, and coercion to exploit young people, potentially leading to violent or criminal behavior.

Chief Moreira explained that members of “The Com” often build trust by offering friendship or romantic attention, then manipulate youths using fear, guilt, or intimidation.

The situation escalated recently when William Dunbar Public School, near Dixie Road and Finch Avenue, was placed on lockdown on January 27 following a phone threat.

As for the methods used by this gang, police advise that victims may be coerced into harmful or unsafe activities, such as sharing intimate images or harming themselves or others. Coercive tactics may include threats of exposing private information, doxing, or swatting.

Victims might also be pressured to adopt concerning usernames, symbols, or messages.

Police recommend that parents watch for warning signs that may indicate something is wrong. These signs include secretive use of encrypted apps and behavioral changes such as withdrawal, secrecy, mood swings, or a decline in academic performance.

School authorities in the Durham region are urging parents to be especially vigilant about any increases in secretive phone or electronic device use, interest in extreme or harmful online ideologies, and new online contacts to whom a child seems unusually attached or fearful.  

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