Europol warns against recruitment of minors by organized crime

The European police authority Europol is currently warning that organized crime networks are increasingly recruiting minors to carry out criminal acts. In this way, criminals try to avoid detection, capture and conviction. They target minors on social media, for example.

In principle, the phenomenon is not new, writes Europol in an intelligence service notification. According to the latest data from Europol, minors are involved in more than 70 percent of criminal markets. The markets that frequently exploit minors include cybercrime and online fraud, drug trafficking and related violence, trafficking in human beings and property crime.

Expansion in recent years

In recent years, this trend has spread to more countries, writes Europol. Recruitment methods are being further developed and minors are being tasked with violent tasks such as extortion or killing.

Encrypted messaging services on social media and customizable privacy settings enable the creation of anonymous groups and channels. These are often used to organize illegal activities – with minimal risk of detection. The perpetrators could send self-destruct messages, delete message histories and restrict group access to verified members. This makes it difficult to monitor communications as interactions can be made without leaving a digital footprint.

Apps that offer direct communication channels make physical meetings superfluous. Many young people are on the move with these, allowing recruiters to reach a large target group with little effort. Criminals use phrases such as "easy money" or "quick cash" to describe illegal activities as attractive opportunities and entice minors. These perceive the interactions as harmless or low risk. Customized language including slang, emojis and coded communication is difficult for outsiders to understand and appeals to minors. They replace drug-related expressions with slang or symbols. A snowflake replaces cocaine, for example, or trees stand for marijuana. "Business opportunities" or "deals" make illegal activities sound legitimate and lower the barrier for minors to participate in these activities.

Recruiters' social tactics

Recruiters adapt their language and communication to that of influencers and rely on "gamification": they present illegal tasks as competitions or missions, for example. This is typical of social media and suits the young target group. They trivialize the criminal activities in this way. In some cases, video games are used as instructions to explain shooting and violent techniques, Europol explains. Recruiters sometimes even offer rewards for completing certain tasks in order to increase the appeal and create a sense of achievement.

The criminals use emotionally charged language that promotes trust, loyalty and a sense of belonging. Recruiters make minors feel "special" by framing illegal activities as only suitable for those with special skills. They capitalize on the emotional needs of validation, seeking protection and a sense of belonging. This blurs the boundaries between friendship and exploitation and makes it difficult for minors to recognize the dangers of their involvement.

During the coronavirus pandemic, cybercrime experienced a significant boost, warned the EU police authority. Perpetrators took advantage of the situation, which meant that more people were working from home, making it easier to attack company networks with ransomware, for example. However, there was also an increase in violence against minors, for example. They spent more time online unsupervised. Criminals used fake identities on social networks to approach children and pressured them into sexualized poses and actions in front of the webcam.

(dmk)