Russian special services employ a new scheme to recruit children for criminal assignments, disguising them as “quests” or “missions” in online games. Criminals typically use popular platforms such as Roblox, Arma 3, or Discord.
The dangerous scheme begins with an acquaintance in a game chat. Unknown “friends” in the games gain the children’s trust and invite them to private conversations through the Telegram messenger. In such cases, minors often receive “gifts”, which can even include real weapons or explosives.
Additionally, children become participants in games with geolocations, where they must track certain objects, such as military equipment, to earn rewards. Under the guise of entertainment, children are asked to graffiti or leave “parcels” in certain places. Importantly, all of these are traps. Parents need to discuss the risks with their children and be informed about how they spend their time and with whom they communicate on social media.
Source: MVS LVIV