Teen boys 'lured into misogynistic grooming gangs'

The National Crime Agency said thousands of youngsters were being bombarded by millions of messages getting them to join such groups.
Investigators found girls as young as 11 have been groomed online as the teenagers then “compete” for increased kudos by committing crimes.
Offenders work together to hack into companies and commit fraud, and use grooming techniques on victims, it was said.
NCA officers also identified a number of cases in which young girls have been coerced into seriously harming or sexually abusing themselves, as well as siblings and pets.
The online communities, known as “Com” networks, have increased by six times between 2022 and 2024 and involve thousands of users and victims. The warning in the NCA's National Strategic Assessment, published yesterday, comes amid growing concerns about teenage boys being influenced by online content.
The NCA said: “Com networks use extreme coercion to manipulate their victims, who are often children, into harming or abusing themselves. Members of Com networks are usually young men motivated by status, power, control, misogyny, sexual gratification or an obsession with extreme or violent material.
“The emergence of thes...