Quests with a trap: how Russian special services lure Ukrainian children through online games
Online games and gaming communities have long become a space for children to communicate on a daily basis, where acquaintances are made easily and trust is often established more quickly than in everyday life. In this environment, where the line between entertainment, competition, and private correspondence is almost blurred, Russian special services are building schemes to recruit Ukrainian children, disguising dangerous tasks as quests, game missions, and supposedly friendly offers.
First contact under the guise of a game
Russian special services are using popular online games and messengers to recruit Ukrainian children, presenting dangerous assignments as supposedly game “quests.” The National Police of Ukraine reported this on its Telegram channel. Among the platforms through which such contact occurs, Roblox, Arma 3, and Discord are named.
The scheme begins with a scenario that is commonplace for a child: a new interlocutor writes in a game chat, maintains a conversation about the game, offers to complete levels together or participate in a fictional mission. Such contact seems familiar in an environment where users are constantly looking for a team, exchange tips and quickly switch from public correspondence to private messages.
After that, the child may be offered to participate in a “quest” or “special task”, which is presented as part of the game, a test of attentiveness or a separate challenge with a reward. Due to this presentation, the task is perceived as a continuation of normal online activity, although further on it is already about actions that go far beyond the boundaries of the virtual space.
The “gamer friend” scenario
One of the schemes described by the police is based on the image of a game buddy who offers to take part in a draw or test. The child is informed about a supposedly valuable prize, but to receive it, a certain action must be performed, related to the transfer of an object, moving to a specified place, or another task that is already of a criminal nature.
In such a model, the danger lies in the gradual shift in the boundaries of what is permissible: at first everything looks like a game with a prize, then a condition appears that the child perceives as part of the scenario, and then involvement in actions begins, the consequences of which the child may not be aware of.
Another variant of recruitment is associated with the so-called game quests with geolocation. Children are offered to photograph certain objects, record places, move along specified routes, or send information that is supposedly needed to complete a new level. In such a scheme, the game shell hides the collection of information about the infrastructure, and the completion of “tasks” turns the child into a participant in actions that pose a threat to national security.
The particular difficulty lies in the fact that for a teenager, such an activity can look like a technical part of the game or an interesting adventure with a clear goal, points and reward. Because of this, the real content of the assignment fades into the background, giving way to excitement, curiosity and the desire to reach the final.
“Courage test” and gradual involvement
Among the main scenarios, law enforcement officers also call it a “courage test”, where the child is first offered relatively simple actions: to apply graffiti, stick up leaflets or pass on an unknown object. Such tasks are presented as small tests that are supposed to prove determination, ingenuity or readiness to participate in the next stage of the game.
Then the level of complexity increases, and with it the degree of risk changes. Graduality in such schemes is key, because it does not leave the impression of a sharp transition from play to crime: each new step looks like a continuation of the previous one, although in reality the child is being drawn deeper into illegal activity.
In some cases, after the initial contact or the fulfillment of the first assignment, the child faces intimidation or blackmail. Such pressure may appear at a time when the organizers have already received correspondence, photos, geolocation or other data that are used for further coercion.
This makes the situation even more dangerous, because the child, who initially perceived everything as a game, finds himself in a state of fear and dependence on other people’s instructions. In such a mechanism, trust, excitement and fear sequentially replace each other, creating a closed chain from which it is difficult for the minor to get out on his own.
Why such schemes work
The gaming environment gives attackers several advantages at once: it allows them to quickly establish contact, hide the true purpose of the conversation, and present dangerous actions as part of a child’s usual scenario. Where an adult would immediately see a suspicious offer, a teenager may see a game, competition, level, or challenge that promises a win, recognition, or new experiences.
The police separately draw attention to the fact that children are often unaware of their involvement in a crime. For them, such communication may look like entertainment with an additional plot, although behind it lies a carefully constructed recruitment scheme.
What law enforcement officers advise
The National Police urges parents to be attentive to what games their children are playing, who they are chatting with in chat rooms, and where this communication goes after the first acquaintance. Particular attention should be paid to situations where a child suddenly has “secret missions”, requests to take a picture of something, deliver something, pick it up or go along a certain route.
In case of recruitment attempts, law enforcement officers advise to immediately contact the Cyber Police, the Security Service of Ukraine or the Juvenile Police. Such a reaction is important in cases where contact has already taken place, and correspondence or data received from the child are being used for further pressure.
