A tradecraft technique where an operative crafts a persona or scenario to gain sensitive information from a target without raising suspicion.

Pretexting is one of the oldest tricks in the book of espionage. It’s a used to gather information by building a fake backstory or identity that looks plausible to your target. This approach gets people to hand over details they wouldn’t otherwise share with a stranger.

Pretexting attacks can be simple or highly complex, depending on the target, and require careful planning, patience, and a lot of confidence. This intel covers the essentials of operational pretexting, its importance for covert action, and some key techniques to make it effective for both fieldwork and strategic purposes.


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Operational pretexting is an art as much as it is a science – a powerful tool to gather information or complete an objective without blowing your cover. This approach has a high degree of risk, but with solid tradecraft and strategic thinking, pretexting can be a key asset in an operative’s toolkit.

[INTEL : ‘Anchoring’: A Tactic of Manipulating Behavior]

[OPTICS : Berlin, Germany]