The FBI warned that a small group of women allegedly created fake online dating profiles using a “traditional wife” or “tradwife” image to attract US immigration enforcement officers and expose their personal information online.
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The FBI’s Chicago office circulated a memo to law enforcement agencies in February about the alleged tactic, The Guardian reported, citing a document obtained through a public records request by government transparency nonprofit Property of the People.
The memo said the women were allegedly creating fictitious dating profiles to attract and then “dox” law enforcement personnel involved in immigration enforcement.
Fake profiles designed to attract officers
According to the FBI briefing, the profiles used “traditional wife” imagery and listed specific interests intended to appeal to law enforcement personnel. The alleged objective was to lure officers into online or in-person interactions under the guise of a date and then publicly expose their identities and personal information.
The FBI said the tactic was intended to cause public embarrassment and discourage immigration enforcement activity.
However, the briefing did not identify the dating platforms allegedly used, specify where the women were based, or say whether any immigration officers had actually been exposed. The FBI also described the document as “not finally evaluated intelligence” and said it was issued to raise awareness about the alleged doxing technique.
Property of the People obtained the memo through a public records request. The FBI memo came weeks after a New York Post report claimed that social media users were encouraging women to use dating apps to identify and expose ICE agents.
That report cited posts from conservative account Libs of TikTok, but did not provide evidence that agents had actually been tricked.
Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People, criticised the FBI briefing, calling it a thinly sourced alert over alleged online dating attempts involving ICE agents.
The FBI has issued other internal warnings about the doxing of immigration enforcement personnel. Previous reports have raised concerns over the use of AI, facial recognition, data-scraping tools and even camera-equipped smart glasses to identify or monitor officers.
