Honeypot social engineering (honey traps)

In security, a honeypot usually means a decoy system defenders use to catch attackers. The social-engineering version is a honey trap: the attacker builds a romantic or sexual connection, collects compromising material, and then uses it as leverage to get information, contacts or access. It follows a predictable chain: contact, rapport, escalation, leverage, demand.

The best-known current case is still unfolding, and much of it is unproven. In November 2026 Nvidia's board opened an independent investigation after reports, first published by The New York Times, that CEO Jensen Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. US intelligence officials reportedly believe a woman linked to a Singapore-based buyer of Nvidia chips worked for China's Ministry of State Security. Huang told staff he had been unfaithful to his wife, without naming anyone; the board says it has no reason to believe trade secrets or national security were compromised, and China calls the spy claims baseless. Less powerful targets get the same treatment: in 2024, accounts calling themselves “Charlie” and “Abi” sent flirtatious WhatsApp messages to more than a dozen people around the UK Parliament, and a man was later charged with blackmail.

Break the chain early. Verify who someone is through a channel you already trust, treat pressure for secrecy or a sudden move to a private app as a red flag, and never share intimate images or other people's details. Organisations should make reporting easy and shame-free: the person who reports on day one is the one who avoids being used on day thirty.