The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released an alarming report highlighting the growing danger posed by an online cybercriminal ecosystem known as The Com (short for “The Community”). This decentralized and increasingly sophisticated network presents a significant cybersecurity risk, particularly to young users who are being actively recruited, targeted, and exploited by its members.
What Is The Com?
The Com refers to a loosely organized but highly coordinated group of cybercriminals, primarily operating in English-speaking online environments. It is not a single unified group, but rather a broad ecosystem of affiliated actors and subgroups with varying degrees of technical sophistication and malicious intent.
These subgroups engage in a spectrum of cybercriminal activities, ranging from traditional hacking and identity theft to more alarming behaviors including extortion, harassment, financial fraud, and violence. A notable and increasingly dangerous subgroup within The Com is known as Hacker Com, which carries out high-impact cyberattacks and fuels much of the technical operations within the broader network.
A Direct Threat to Youth
According to the FBI, The Com poses a mounting threat not only to cybersecurity in general but specifically to children and adolescents, who are both the primary victims and, at times, participants in this evolving threat landscape.
Who are The Com?
The Com are predominantly youth, especially tech-savvy teenagers aged 11 to 25. They are being recruited via social media platforms, online gaming forums, and chat applications. Peer pressure, promises of financial gain, and a desire for notoriety are common recruitment tactics.
Once recruited, they engage in swatting and hoax threats, including bomb threats, sextortion, where minors are coerced or blackmailed, production or distribution of child sexual exploitation material, stolen identity and financial data theft, participation in ransomware or malware operations, cryptocurrency theft and laundering and more. Most disturbingly, the perpetrators often exploit the relative immaturity of minors, convincing them that they are “immune” to criminal prosecution due to their age. This misconception has led to the involvement of children in increasingly serious crimes without full knowledge of the legal consequences.
How do they communicate and recruit?
Members of The Community (The Com) cybercriminal network predominantly use widely accessible social media platforms and gaming platforms for both recruitment and coordination. According to recent FBI warnings and analysis by cybersecurity experts, platforms most often observed include:
- Discord: Used for private group chats, voice communication, and file sharing. It is favored for creating semi-private invite-only communities where members can recruit, plan, and share illegal material in private Discord servers.
- Telegram (combolist, Combo List Gaming HQ): Chosen for its encrypted messaging capabilities and large-group support, making it suitable for both open and underground communications.
- Other Social Media Platforms: While Discord and Telegram are specifically called out, other mainstream platforms are also exploited, particularly:
- Twitter/X
- YouTube
- Gaming Platforms: In addition to traditional social media, recruitment and communication often occur on gaming sites and apps. These environments are particularly attractive for initial contact with minors due to the prevalence of youth and the presence of built-in chat functions.
- Regional Platforms: In certain regions, platforms like VKontakte (VK) and Odnoklassniki (OK) (especially in Russian-speaking contexts) are also used for criminal group activities, including the sharing of compromised financial data and fraud tutorials.
In Real Life (IRL) Com: The violent subset of The Community
In Real Life (IRL) Com is a highly concerning subset of the broader cybercriminal ecosystem known as The Community. Unlike purely digital criminal groups, IRL Com operates both online and offline, orchestrating real-world violence as a service and directly targeting youth for recruitment. The FBI warns that IRL Com offers a spectrum of Violence as a Service (VaaS), with actions that go far beyond cybercrime. Services are openly advertised online, often with detailed price lists:
- Shootings
- Kidnappings
- Armed robberies
- Stabbings
- Physical assaults
- Bricking (throwing items through windows or property damage)
Groups or individuals can purchase these services, and contracts for acts of violence are solicited and coordinated via social and encrypted online platforms
FBI Recommendations
The FBI strongly urges parents, educators, and community leaders to:
- Educate children and young adults about the risks of sharing personal information online and engaging with unknown users
- Monitor children’s use of social media, gaming platforms, and communication apps
- Encourage ethical use of technology and cultivate awareness regarding criminal consequences
- Report suspicious activity to local law enforcement or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)