AN internet investigator who helped expose a notorious online pedophile network is urging parents to stay vigilant as authorities ramp up fresh probes into the shadowy group.
Becca Spinks has told The U.S. Sun that her small team of citizen investigators were among the first to identify the scale of the terrifying network that would later be labeled as “764.”
The FBI has characterized the a sprawling, digital gang as “online predators” who are now under scrutiny by federal authorities and members of Congress
Spinks has been credited with helping draw attention to several alleged members, including 19-year-old Cameron Finnigan, who was sentenced in the United Kingdom to six years in prison in January 2025 after admitting to targeting children online for sexual blackmail and coercion.
She also played a prominent role in exposing another member, Kyle Spitze, for an alleged slew of sickening online crimes.
But the work has come at a personal cost.
Read more on online predators
Spinks says she relocated for the safety of her young daughter after receiving sustained threats from individuals she believes were connected to the 764 network.
“I think about quitting all the time,” she told The U.S. Sun. “It’s been a rollercoaster going from a normal mom to this.
“It’s a whirlwind I never expected. But I also strongly feel that I was put here for a reason. I believe I’m good at what I’m doing. So it’s hard for me to just walk away.”
Unlike traditional criminal organizations, 764, which the FBI describes as a “violent online group,” does not operate under a clear hierarchy.
Instead, it functions as a loose ecosystem of online communities that share tactics, exploitative material, and extremist themes.
The FBI say members have encouraged minors to produce explicit content, harm themselves, mutilate animals, and attempt suicide — often recording the acts for further coercion.
“They believe that by accelerating the collapse of society, they can get us to a different endpoint, which may be some kind of fascism or satanic cult ideology,” Spinks explains.
“But either way, the strategy is all the same. The reason they’re preying on our kids is because these are our children. What better way to attack a country or a culture than to subvert and corrupt our children?”
Disturbing network
The network is believed to have been started in 2021 by Texas school dropout Bradley Cadenhead.
The name 764 reportedly referenced zip codes connected to his hometown.
In 2023, Cadenhead was sentenced to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts related to child sexual abuse material.
Spinks’ background is in self-defense instruction and gun safety training.
For years, she focused on preparing women and children to protect themselves in the physical world.
But around 2020, she began realizing that the most serious threats facing children were in a digital realm.
“I’m used to teaching people how to defend themselves,” she said. “But at some point I realized there were dangers online that I didn’t even understand as a parent.”
Her research led her into private online channels where she says children were being manipulated into self-harm under threat of exposure.
She alleges members specifically targeted vulnerable teens struggling with mental health issues, isolating them and escalating demands over time.
“They spend their energy on kids who are already struggling,” she said. “It’s psychological warfare. It’s a terror attack on our children.”
“These are the types of kids who try to seek validation online,” Spinks continued.
”They are isolating themselves from their real-life peers and finding validation online, and these bad guys — these groomers and provocateurs — know exactly which type of kid they can influence the best and they spend their energy on them. It’s really sad.”
Increased danger
She is desperate to warn parents how to keep their loved ones safe.
“I say this all the time — there could be an issue anywhere your kids have unsupervised access to talk to strangers on the internet,” Spinks said
“Roblox, Instagram. If your kid has an Instagram account with open DMs, they have access to gaming servers.
“A lot of parents are shocked to hear that their kids can just wander around a virtual landscape and talk to strangers.
“There’s no difference between that and sending your kid out to a downtown area and letting them talk to strangers. It’s just as dangerous.”
Too many families, in her experience, “bury their heads in the sand” when it comes to online protection.
“This could happen to any kid,” she continued. “Number one is knowing what your kid is doing online and keeping them off of platforms where people can exploit them.
“Number two is having age-appropriate, open, honest discussions with your children about predators and how they work. Just like within the self-defense industry, eventually you have to teach your child to protect themselves to some degree, and that’s what we have to do here.”
Whenever there is a school shooting, Spinks and her team begin to delve deep into the history of the perpetrators.
“We immediately start looking for breadcrumbs to link them to these communities,” she admitted.
“More often than not, we’re finding that they were in groups like 764, especially if they’re young perpetrators.”
When the FBI issued a public service announcement in 2023 referencing 764, Spinks says it confirmed patterns she and her team had already been documenting.
“When I first went to the FBI, they didn’t really know what I was talking about,” she claimed. “Once the PSA came out, it finally put a name to what we were seeing.”
As she became more vocal publicly in early 2024, the threats intensified.
She filed reports with local law enforcement and was later included in an FBI complaint related to online harassment.
“The threats haven’t stopped,” she said. “Once you start exposing them, they try to intimidate you into silence.”
Anywhere your child can talk privately to a stranger online is a potential entry point.
Investigator Becca Spinks on the dangers 764 poses to parents
Her involvement deepened when she began investigating Tennessee man Spitze, after noticing allegations linking him to 764 circulating online.
A viral video showing him being shot in the ear by his stepfather drew attention to his case, and commenters claimed they were victims.
They also chillingly alleged he was connected to the network.
His stepfather has since been charged with tampering with a witness connected to his son’s trial.
Following those claims, Spinks says she traced online activity allegedly tied to Spitze to a Telegram channel that she described as containing graphic content involving minors being coerced into harming themselves.
Spitze is currently awaiting sentencing on child exploitation charges.
One of those Spinks says threatened her was Finnigan, according to a BBC report . During his sentencing hearing in the UK, she said hearing her name read aloud in court was surreal.
“To realize he was a 19-year-old sitting behind a screen was jarring,” she said. “These kids are made to believe they’re dealing with monsters who can reach into their homes. In reality, most of them have never left their bedrooms.”
She believes much of the network’s power lies in psychological manipulation — convincing children who don’t act upon their demands will lead to catastrophic consequences for them or their families.
“They create this image of being unstoppable and dangerous,” she said. “For a child, that feels completely real.”
Police problems
The decentralized nature of 764 makes it difficult to dismantle, she added. Groups splinter, rebrand, and migrate across platforms, from gaming environments to encrypted messaging apps.
She admits she once underestimated how mainstream platforms could be used as entry points.
In February 2025, 16-year-old Penelope Sokolowski took her own life, with her dad Jason heartbreakingly admitting looking through her phone was like attending a “crime scene.”
He saw images of self-mutilation and revealed his daughter had told him about being recruited in a group by someone she met on Roblox.
She claimed to have moved on. But not long after she turned 16, she killed herself.
Other images showed her carving the numbers 764 into her body.
The U.S. Sun has reported extensively on the crisis engulfing Roblox, with hundreds of lawsuits filed against the gaming company for failing to keep child users safe while using the popular platform.
Despite the danger and personal toll, Spinks, who refused to confirm if she is in constant contact with the FBI, says she remains committed.
“Until people speak up, this continues,” she said. “Law enforcement often needs victims willing to come forward. Every child who does is incredibly brave.”
As investigations expand, she believes awareness — from parents, tech companies, and authorities — will be critical in countering an online threat that continues to evolve.
“This isn’t going away on its own,” she said. “We have to confront it.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 800-422-4453 or live chat at childhelphotline.org.
If a child or other person is in immediate danger, contact 911 immediately.
