Sydney: Australian authorities have launched a global taskforce in response to a surge in online crime targeting young girls, warning that criminal networks have coerced victims into violent acts in what police describe as a ‘twisted type of gamification.’
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett has said that the emerging threat represents a disturbing new front in gender-based violence. The AFP has confirmed that three people have been arrested in Australia and nine others across various countries for their alleged roles in the scheme.
Investigations have shown that perpetrators, largely men in their late teens and early twenties from Western nations, recruit pre-teen and teenage girls through popular gaming and messaging platforms such as Roblox, Discord, and Telegram. Barrett has stated that these so-called ‘crimefluencers’ promote ideologies rooted in nihilism, sadism, Nazism, and satanism, and lure emotionally vulnerable girls into committing acts of violence.
The AFP has identified almost 60 suspected offenders within Australia and is collaborating with Five Eyes partners – the US, UK, New Zealand, and Canada – to track down members of these criminal networks. Barrett has noted that the perpetrators act out of amusement and a desire for notoriety, rather than financial or sexual motives.
Authorities have confirmed that technology firms are developing an AI-based tool to detect coded emojis and slang used by these groups in encrypted communications.
This rise in online crime has reignited debate over youth safety and digital regulation, as Australia prepares to enforce a world-first social media ban for children under 16 in December. However, the new law does not apply to gaming or messaging platforms, which remain key channels for exploitation.
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