The man behind the sick "suicide game" allegedly is in prison in Russia, is only 21 years old and still accepts erotic letters from teenagers who are delivered to his cell.
According to reports, he is Philipp Budeikin (also known as Philipp Lis), who is accused of instigating at least 16 suicides in which he was directly involved.
The Russian, who was arrested in December 2016, has confessed his crimes and cynicism says he considers his victims "biological waste", that he is happy to have died and that this test "cleanses society".
As protothema.gr mentions, in his same interview with the newspaper SaintPetesburg, he argued that the teenagers "died happily, gave them what they did not have in real life ... warmth, understanding and communication."
The Russian authorities say they received dozens of erotic letters from girls receiving the prisoner in Kresty Prison in St. Petersburg, and that, pending the trial in November, the law says they can not ban their surrender.
How the game started
Anton Breido, senior officer of the Russian Examining Board, said: "Budeikin was well aware of what he needed to do to get the result he wanted. It started in 2013 and has since perfected its tactics and corrected its mistakes. He and his assistants initially attracted the children to groups at VK (a popular communication platform in Russia, like Viber or WhatsApp). Their goal was to attract as many children as possible and then to understand those most affected by psychological manipulation. Of the 20,000 people, they knew only 20 would be appropriate. "
The manager or curator (like his in-game name) of the game found players through a "suicide" band created in VKontakte. Police in Russia have closed down many of these groups in recent years, but they say that once one closes, another appears and that has led them to hide.
Once a victim has been accepted by a manager, he is given a list of 50 daily challenges, which can be anything, from simple tasks such as listening to a specific song, seeing a jarring video and waking up in strange hours, More extreme requests such as word-writing or the symbol of a blue whale on his skin.
The first challenge usually comes at 4:20 in the morning. Whenever a job is completed, the victim must provide a photograph or video as proof of completion.
Investigation effort by journalists
A journalist working at Radio Free Europe created an account at VK, presenting himself as a 15-year-old girl who tried to get into the game. After contact, he was given his first assignment, which included involuntary self-harm.
Journalists: I want to play the game
Admin: Are you sure? He has no return
Journalists: Yes. What does this mean; That he has no return?
Admin: You can not leave the game when it starts
Reporters: I'm ready.
Admin: You must successfully complete each challenge. And no one has to learn it. Once you've finished the challenge, you will send me a photo. At the end of the game, you die. Are you ready;.
Journalists: And if I want to stop?
Admin: I have all your details. They will chase you.
The first challenge was to "carve an F58 on her arm with a razor".
With photoshop help, journalists tried to fool the manager.
It seems, however, that they did not succeed because they never answered them.
The victims
The dangerous game was directly linked to the deaths of three teenagers in Russia. 16-year-old Veronika Volkova and 15-year-old Yulia Konstantinova "dove" from the roof of a block of flats.
Just before her death, Konstantinova posted a photo of a blue whale on her social networking profile. Shortly before he committed suicide, he wrote: "Finally."
The same was written by her girlfriend, Veronika: "Every point was lost. End".
By the end of 2015, a 17-year-old girl from Russia, Rina Palenkova, published a selfie, a few moments before falling in front of an upcoming train. The train driver saw Rina and desperately tried to stop the train but could not and so the girl was killed by the impact.
"Mommy, are there blue whales?" One day the 13-year-old Colombian asked, Maileen and her mother answered innocently that they were there, but it is an endangered species. It was the first thing he thought, and he did not have the slightest idea what this question meant.
Two months later, on April 28, her lifeless body was hung from a rope. The 37-year-old mother had never heard of it for the deadly challenge, and when she was informed, she began to associate her daughter's events, incidents and behaviors that until then had passed unnoticed. However, the 13-year-old was not the first to die, by participating in the online challenge that has now taken on international dimensions and mobilized the authorities around the world.
Last November, in Ukraine, the 15-year-old Denis and Katia were quarreled with their parents and left for the cottage in a nearby village. When the police found them, the children began to shoot, while at the same time bringing funny pictures to "V Kontakte" and communicating with their acquaintances. Eventually, Denis killed Katia and committed suicide.
A 16-year-old girl suicide at Brazil's Mato Grosso last month as a result of the game. According to the police, he left behind two letters describing in detail the rules of the game. In addition to putting messages in her hands with a blade, she completed the final step. He's committed suicide.
Police are investigating the suicide of another 19-year-old boy in Minas Gerais, Brazil, whose family suspects playing the same game. His family reported that he had seen him complete the various steps of the game, such as taking a selfie watching a horror movie and making a whale in his hand with a razor.
The killing instructions
Indicatively, some of the challenges that players have to conclude are encouraged to encourage themselves to do themselves in a number of ways:
"Get up at 4.20 and watch horror videos"
"Grab your hand"
"Day 26: Today you will learn the date of your death"
"Day 28: Do not talk to anyone today"
"Day 50: Get off the roof or hang"
"Supervisors" - "Guides" can be changed during the "game". When "blocked" for any reason, they return with different online "names".
If the network itself "blocks" the entire game, then a new account is created and through it they find their victim again. The abandonment of "play" is possible but difficult. If the victim announces that he leaves the "team", the threats begin. So far they have not reached the realization.
According to the data released, "death squads" are considered responsible for 130 child suicides within one semester in Russia.
And all these elements before the killing game, "migrate" to Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Twitter.
Anonymous in the battle against the Blue Whale
Through their official announcement, Anonymous warns users about the existence of the game by preventing them from participating in it. As they say: The #OpBluewhale campaign aims to save children from this dangerous game. Behind all of this are criminals, members of a Russian criminal organization. We have identified the game administrators and we have all the information we need for them. We will destroy this game. We have already saved many children from suicide. "
Anonymous reveals how children are blackmailed by publishing screenshots with the rules to follow: "You can not leave the game before the end", "You have to be devoted to us", "We have all your personal details and we can To exploit them to force you to stay in the game "is just some of them.