‘Young and attractive’ Pakistani honeytraps: MHA issues warning - ‘If an officer is compromised …'

Image generated by AI for representational purpose only

• MHA warns police of rising honey-trap attempts by Pak operatives
• SOP urges police to limit social media use and online visibility
• Officers told not to accept unknown friend requests or share data

Did our AI summary help?

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a fresh warning to police personnel across the country after noticing a rise in “honey-trapping” attempts by Pakistan intelligence operatives. To deal with this growing threat, the ministry has released a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the safe use of social media.

The SOP was circulated in November 2025 through the Bureau of Police Research & Development. It explains that foreign intelligence operatives are increasingly using popular social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and LinkedIn to befriend police officers and secretly gather sensitive information, The Times of India reported.

According to the SOP, these operatives often use fake profiles and may pose as journalists, researchers, or retired officials - "especially profiles with young, attractive female photographs intended to lure people".

To prevent such risks, the SOP advises police personnel not to reveal their identity as officers on social media. They are told to "control online visibility so that it is limited only to people included in your contact list”. Officers have also been warned against accepting friend requests from unknown people or linking different social media accounts together.

The guidelines stress that social media should not be used for official communication. Police personnel are advised to limit their online visibility to trusted contacts only, use disappearing messages when possible, and be careful before clicking on links that promise jobs, money, free trips, or claim to be from government sources.

Downloading unverified apps, clicking unknown links, or sharing documents on messaging platforms has been strictly discouraged.

The SOP also lays down steps to be followed if an officer is suspected of being compromised. In such cases, digital devices must be immediately seized to prevent deletion of data.

This will be followed by questioning along with the Intelligence Bureau. The counter-intelligence wing of the state police will monitor the implementation of these rules and coordinate with central agencies.

Finally, the SOP highlights the importance of strong passwords, two-factor authentication, limited app permissions, and regular privacy checks.

It reminds police personnel that they are fully responsible for what they post online, and sharing confidential information can lead to disciplinary action or criminal charges.