Honey trapping is a practice involving the use of romantic or sexual relationships for interpersonal, political (including stateespionage), or monetary purpose. Thehoney pot ortrap involves making contact with an individual who has information or resources required by a group or individual; the trapper will then seek to entice the target into a falserelationship (which may or may not include actual physical involvement) in which they can glean information or influence over the target.
The term "honey trap" is also used when dating sites[1] are used to gain access to a victim.[2][3]
Private investigators are often employed to create ahoney pot by wives, husbands, and other partners usually when an illicit romantic affair is suspected of the "target", or subject of the investigation.[4] Occasionally, the term may be used for the practice of creating anaffair for the purpose of taking incriminating photos for use inblackmail. A honey trap is used primarily to collect evidence on the subject of the honey trap. Honey trapping is also used in getting a new useraddicted to illegal drugs and also for drug smuggling.[5][6]
Honey trapping has a long history of use in espionage.
During theCold War, female agents called "Mozhno girls" or "Mozhnos" were used by theKGB of theUSSR to spy on foreign officials by seducing them.[7] The name Mozhno comes from theRussian word "mozhno" (Russian:можно), meaning "it is permitted", as these agents were allowed to breach regulations restricting Russian contact with foreigners.[7]
In 2009, theBritishMI5 distributed a 14-page document to hundreds of British banks, businesses, and financial institutions, titled "The Threat from Chinese Espionage". It described a wide-rangingChinese effort to blackmail Western business people over sexual relationships. The document explicitly warns that Chinese intelligence services are trying to cultivate "long-term relationships" and have been known to "exploit vulnerabilities such as sexual relationships ... to pressurise individuals to co-operate with them."[8]
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Each assignment varies depending on what the agent and client decide on during their prior consultation. A common assignment consists of the agent initiating contact with the subject throughface-to-face interaction. The agent will attempt to take the communication further into other outlets including: e-mail, text messaging, phone calls, etc. The step after this can be considered the most crucial moment of the assignment. The agent will propose a second meeting to the subject. Whether or not the subject agrees to further communication will determine whether the assignment will go deeper or come to an end.Hotels are often used as a meeting place to determine whether the subject intends for the relationship to escalate. Once the investigation comes to an end, the agent will turn over any record of communication they had with the subject. Other documents that are recorded include: photographs, videos, venue appointments, etc.
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