Children and young people in Finland are at particularly high risk of becoming victims of criminals lurking online, according to Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen, executive director of Protect Children (Suojellaan lapset in Finnish), a NGO that helps victims and their families.
"Finnish children’s risk of becoming victims of grooming, sexual harassment and luring is high compared to the rest of Europe, because here children get smartphones at such a young age," Vaaranen-Valkonen said.
She noted that victims of online sexual violence tend to be much younger in Finland, even as young as 5 years old.
"Finnish safety and children’s freedom come into conflict with each other when a child starts using a mobile phone alone too early," Vaaranen-Valkonen said, adding that children are then exposed to harmful content, complex interactions, and online crime.
New danger: The Com network
Particular concern has been raised this year by the activities of "The Com", a loose online 'community' of multiple cybercriminal networks, which operates on social and gaming platforms.
The Com has been suspected of involvement in various cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency theft, incitement to violence, and "swatting" — meaning the practice of placing hoax calls to send emergency services to another person's location.
The network's activities have been detected in at least 31 countries, including Finland.
Members of the group also threaten, extort, coerce and encourage children to commit sexual violence, harm themselves or other children, torture or kill pets, or carry out other acts of violence. The children and young people are then pressured to take and share images and videos of these acts.
They search for victims across various social media and gaming platforms, such as the Roblox gaming world.
"The criminal is not always just an individual; rather, quite young perpetrators hunt for child victims with a shared plan and in groups. Everyone is nice to the victim at first, and only later do the pressure, blackmail and threats begin," Valkonen-Vaaranen explained, adding that a child's ability to recognise risks — especially in online environments — is not fully developed.
"Children should never be able to communicate online with strangers, violent individuals or significantly older youths or adults," she said.
NBI: Several victims in Finland
According to Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), several children in Finland have fallen victim to The Com network, with cases currently under investigation across the country.
The investigations are still ongoing and therefore have not yet been passed to prosecutors for consideration of charges, meaning exact numbers are difficult to come by.
However, Yle understands the Western Uusimaa Police Department is investigating suspicions that the network targeted a child under the age of 15 in Finland between 2021 and 2023.
Police in Germany are also investigating a case in which a Finnish child may have been used as an intermediary by a man who encouraged a 13-year-old in the US to commit suicide.
The NBI issued a warning about The Com's activities in Finland earlier this year
"The activities are manipulative and extremely cruel," Detective Inspector Jyri Hiltunen said at the time.
The Protect Children organisation has a bank of English language resources on its website to help and support victims, or potential victims, and their families.
