Honeypots in espionage fiction (original) (raw)

For real-world examples, see Recruitment of spies. In espionage terminology, honeypot and honey trap are terms for an operational practice involving the use of a covert agent (usually female), to create a sexual or romantic relationship to compromise a (usually male) target. The operator may be a government spy service or organized crime syndicate and the target, or victim, can unwittingly provide intelligence or perform other services for the operator. These situations are a very common trope in spy fiction and media portrayals of female espionage. Variations include same-sex relationships and complications may involve the covert agent falling in love with the target.