honey trap

Seducing someone or drawing them into an intimate relationship in order to obtain information or compromise them.

The CIA glossary associates this method particularly with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.¹

The International Spy Museum also uses the slang term swallow for a woman employed to seduce people in order to obtain information. The aim of a honey trap is often to obtain kompromat, that is, material for blackmail or discrediting someone.^1,2

In the present day, the ABW’s report for 2024–2025 describes, among other things, foreign services acquiring sources with access to sensitive information and recruitment through online messaging apps (see recruitment).³