Systematic cyberbullying, -stalking: BKA takes action against "New World Order"
For years, organized trolls have harassed vulnerable people from the live streaming scene in particular. Now the police are taking action.
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The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and law enforcement officers from six federal states are taking action against an online group called "New World Order" (NWO). This Tuesday morning, they searched the homes of ten members of the group and seized numerous electronic devices and storage media, the BKA announced. The public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt am Main accuses the ten individuals of being the ringleaders of a criminal organization that has committed crimes such as systematic cyberbullying and cyberstalking.
They are said to have chosen people from the live streamer scene as victims, often vulnerable or cognitively impaired people. The organized trolls of the "New World Order" are said to have stalked, threatened and insulted them on social media. In the respective comment functions, the accused are also alleged to have posted symbols of unconstitutional organizations or inciting content. The victims were to be ridiculed and made to give up their online presence.
The suspects also allegedly tried to obtain personal data of the victims to publish it in the respective stream, known as doxing. Among other things, they used spoofed telephone numbers to obtain the data using false identities from public and non-public databases and from authorities.
Emergency call abuse
The suspects are also alleged to have carried out so-called swatting. This involves emergency services turning up at the victim's home while they are livestreaming. To this end, the accused allegedly misused emergency calls to the fire department, the police or the gas emergency service.
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"Crimes committed online do not remain without consequences, as perpetrators can expect consistent prosecution at any time, especially if particularly vulnerable or vulnerable people are targeted," emphasized the BKA. In March of this year, for example, the police took action against hate postings against women by raiding the homes of suspects.
According to research by the television magazine Kontraste and "Der Spiegel", the NWO group is said to have been attacking live streamers in an organized manner for years. There are said to have been 75,000 internal chat messages and audio recordings of conversations from various sources over a period of around six years. NWO is also said to have targeted politicians and harassed them with bomb threats, including at schools.
(anw)
