Another dangerous "game" is recently circulating on the Internet, which does not work on WhatsApp, but mostly through platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. The game appears under the name Jonathan Galindo and asks people, generally children, to perform various challenges, eventually reaching even towards suicide. The game, similar to that of the Blue Whale or the Momo challenge , is not registered in Albania, but the State Police and Unit "C" for the Investigation of Computer Crimes in the Criminal Police Department, as they have identified the development of this dangerous virtual game, have reacted through an official statement, which you find below.
To better clarify public opinion, the new virtual game "Jonathan Galindo" comes after several virtual games such as "Blue Whale" and "Momo". "Jonathan Galindo", also known as "Cursed Goofy", is a character described as a man wearing a “Goofy” dog mask and is associated with the Blue Whale challenge.
Anonymous users create profiles using the name "Jonathan Galindo" and various images of "Cursed Goofy" and then send messages to women and children through social media platforms, asking them if they want to play a game, referring to the Blue Whales challenge, which bears a resemblance to the “Momo” challenge.
If they refuse, the user will threaten to make their personal information public.
If the people who received the messages will accept to play, this challenge can last 50 days with 50 different challenges and in the end the last challenge can lead them to cause suicide.
Also, to clarify the public opinion, the image used is not an image which must necessarily show that its user is part of this challenge, as it can be used by different users for completely different purposes. The images used in the profiles of these accounts originate from the stylist Samuel Canini and date at least to the years 2012-2013.
The character "Jonathan Galindo" is currently unidentified, but the first profile used for this purpose comes from the social platform "TikTok", in the fall of 2019.
Since the creation of this profile, numerous similar accounts have appeared on all social networks such as: TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Discord and more, sending messages to users of these social networks and encouraging or threatened them to take part in this challenge.
Currently, according to the data available to Unit "C", the most affected persons are children aged 10 to 18 years, who are part of the most vulnerable groups in society.
I bëjmë thirrje të gjithë qytetarëve që të bëjnë kujdes përsa i përket monitorimit të pjesëtarëve të familjes së tyre dhe veçanërisht të fëmijëve, në çdo rast, dhe sidomos kur vërejnë shenja si:
Fëmijët marrin mesazhe apo postime nga “Jonathan Galindo”, i cili është një njeri që e ka fytyrën të lyer si personazhi “Micky Mouse” ose si qen;
• Marrin ose referohen në #f57, #f40 ose #ImaËhale;
• Ndryshime ekstreme në zakonet e tyre të të ngrënit apo të gjumit;
• Përdorimi i veshjeve të gjata që mbulojnë mirë pjesët e trupit me qëllim që të fshihen vetëdëmtimet trupore;
• Fotografimi i veprimeve apo aktiviteteve të ndryshme dhe dërgimi në llogari të rrjeteve sociale që prindërit nuk i njohin.
Perhaps some of these signs may not be relevant to this challenge, but they nevertheless constitute serious reasons for concern.
In conclusion, we clarify the public opinion that so far Unit "C" for the Investigation of Computer Crimes in the State Police has not identified any such case in the Republic of Albania and at the same time calls on any citizen who believes or suspects that women or children are in a situation of such danger, to inform the State Police immediately and at any time. ”
