Honeytrap

Not to be confused with honeypot, a computer term to direct targets to false objectives.

Honeytrap  (entrapment,  tradecraft,  deception,  sexual blackmail)
investigative tactic involving the use of sex.

Honey trapping is an practice involving the use of romantic or sexual relationships for interpersonal, political (including state espionage) or monetary purpose. The honey pot or trap 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 false relationship (which may or may not include actual physical involvement) in which they can glean information or influence over the target.

CIA

Full article: CIA

The CIA sent a honeytrap to get close to whistleblower Philip Agee.

There have been speculations the CIA also uses this method to get access to strategic politicians. Names that have been mentioned as possible honey traps include Ann Durham, Barack Obama's mother, who married two up-an-coming third world politicians from Kenya and Indonesia; and Hope Cooke, who married the king of Sikkim, a strategic Himalayan kingdom which was annexed by India in 1975.

“Drawing of my own experiences as a CIA officer in Europe during the seventies and eighties, operations using women to entice prominent men were called “honeypots” or “honeytraps.” They were only used in certain geographic areas where there were foreign diplomats from countries that were considered not friendly and therefore targets for recruitment. As I recall Vienna was particularly favored as it had numerous Russians and Eastern Europeans resident in the city during the Cold War doing jobs that linked them to their respective governments. The objective was to draw them into an illicit relationship and eventually convince them, usually by offering them money, to share the information they had about the intentions of their governments lest they be exposed for their private behavior.”
Philip Giraldi (July 18, 2025) 

KGB

Full article: KGB

The KGB and allied services at times used honeytraps to try to get close to Western politicians.

 

An example

Page name	Description
WhistleblowersUK	UK group chaired since November 2015 by the former Institute for Statecraft head of security, Tom Lloyd.

 

Related Quotation

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Sean Penn	“Is Sean Penn a Hollywood “honey trap” for the five eyes intelligence alliance..? Or is Penn nothing more than a member of the rising celebrity cult-humanitarian complex spearheaded by entertainment stars, billionaires and activist “NGOs” that include Bill Gates, George Soros, Angelina Jolie, Bono and Penn’s ex-wife, Madonna? The line between being an intelligence asset and an “innocent” promoter of US hegemony and neoliberal capitalism is an indistinct one in either case.”	Sean Penn Vanessa Beeley	27 November 2020

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