The FBI warned immigration officers internally that a group of women were creating fake online dating profiles with tradwife aesthetics to lure and dox them.
The FBI’s Chicago field office distributed a memo in February warning the country’s law enforcement agencies that a small group of women were creating the fake accounts in January targeting immigration authorities.
The dating profiles were “incorporating imagery of a ‘traditional wife’ aesthetic and listing specific interests in an attempt to appeal to an individuals in law enforcement,” according to the memo.
“The objective was to lure affiliated law enforcement personnel into an online or in-person interaction under the guise of a date, after which the individuals would be publicly exposed and doxed online,” the memo reads. “The tactic is intended to generate public embarrassment and deter immigration enforcement activity.”
NBC News was provided the memo by Property of the People, a nonprofit organization focused on government transparency, which obtained it through a state open records request. The memo was first reported by The Guardian.
The FBI confirmed the authenticity of the memo to NBC News.
“While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, the FBI regularly shares information with our law enforcement partners to assist in protecting the communities they serve as well as protecting those who serve and protect communities,” the agency said in a statement. “The FBI is committed to ensuring that law enforcement officers are safe from threats or violence while performing their duties.”
The memo did not state where the dating profiles were created or share examples of what the profiles contained.
It was sent amid a surge of thousands of immigration officers to the Twin Cities, dubbed by the federal government as “Operation Metro Surge.” The effort was ramped down after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were protesting immigration enforcement in Minneapolis in January.
The immigration crackdown and killings prompted sweeping protests across the country and national furor against federal law enforcement.
The alleged dating profiles in Chicago were also created several months after an immigration enforcement surge there known as “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Laura Strickler is the senior investigative producer on the national security team where she produces television stories and writes for NBCNews.com.
Michael Kosnar is the Justice Department Producer for NBC News.
I’m a reporter on NBC News’ breaking news team, covering crime, extreme weather, pop culture and more. I recently covered Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa, Florida, metropolitan area, and the student-led protests at Columbia University.